Wind Turbine Payback in Tipton County, TN
Wind turbine payback in Tipton County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Tipton County, TN averages 5.35 m/s (12 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,963 kWh a year, worth $2,065 at TN's 13.8¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 48 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Tipton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Tipton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 5.35 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,291 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,496, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 33¢/kWh, 2.4 times what TN pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 5.35. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TN
Tipton County is the 1,303rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in TN is Lake County at 5.54 m/s, payback 44 years.
Month by month in Tipton County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.37 m/s and about 1,842 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.93 m/s and 529 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Tipton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.08 m/s | 1,721 kWh | $237 |
| February | 6.17 m/s | 1,609 kWh | $222 |
| March | 6.25 m/s | 1,832 kWh | $253 |
| April | 6.37 m/s | 1,842 kWh | $254 |
| May | 5.35 m/s | 1,268 kWh | $175 |
| June | 4.44 m/s | 738 kWh | $102 |
| July | 3.93 m/s | 529 kWh | $73 |
| August | 3.98 m/s | 551 kWh | $76 |
| September | 4.62 m/s | 826 kWh | $114 |
| October | 5.32 m/s | 1,252 kWh | $173 |
| November | 5.90 m/s | 1,558 kWh | $215 |
| December | 5.89 m/s | 1,605 kWh | $221 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Tipton County averages 4.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.09 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.252, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,435 to 20,371 kWh a year, 78% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 4.83 m/s | 11,435 kWh | 63 years |
| 30 m | 5.35 m/s | 14,994 kWh | 48 years |
| 40 m | 5.76 m/s | 17,910 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 6.09 m/s | 20,371 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Tipton County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lauderdale County, averages 5.41 m/s.
- Lauderdale County, TN: 5.41 m/s, 15,390 kWh, payback 47 years (19 mi)
- Shelby County, TN: 5.13 m/s, 13,421 kWh, payback 54 years (23 mi)
- Mississippi County, AR: 5.35 m/s, 14,963 kWh, payback 49 years (25 mi)
- Haywood County, TN: 5.12 m/s, 13,353 kWh, payback 54 years (27 mi)
- Fayette County, TN: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 86 years (28 mi)
- Crittenden County, AR: 5.13 m/s, 13,421 kWh, payback 54 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Tipton County
Tipton County gets 4.42 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,291 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,496. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.