Wind Turbine Payback in Wilkinson County, MS
Wind turbine payback in Wilkinson 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 Wilkinson County, MS averages 3.4 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,942 kWh a year, worth $594 at MS's 15.06¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Wilkinson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Wilkinson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.9 m/s at the hub against 3.4 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,361 kWh a year here against the turbine's 394, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 127¢/kWh, 8.4 times what MS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.9 m/s instead of 3.4. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MS
Wilkinson County is the 2,625th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MS is DeSoto County at 5.13 m/s, payback 50 years.
Month by month in Wilkinson County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.90 m/s and about 515 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.59 m/s and 131 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Wilkinson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.82 m/s | 486 kWh | $73 |
| February | 3.94 m/s | 480 kWh | $72 |
| March | 3.90 m/s | 515 kWh | $78 |
| April | 3.86 m/s | 486 kWh | $73 |
| May | 3.36 m/s | 321 kWh | $48 |
| June | 2.87 m/s | 182 kWh | $27 |
| July | 2.59 m/s | 131 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.65 m/s | 142 kWh | $21 |
| September | 3.03 m/s | 220 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.40 m/s | 334 kWh | $50 |
| November | 3.66 m/s | 411 kWh | $62 |
| December | 3.77 m/s | 467 kWh | $70 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Wilkinson County averages 2.13 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.22 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.425, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,202 to 7,732 kWh a year, 251% 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 | 2.86 m/s | 2,202 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.4 m/s | 3,929 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.84 m/s | 5,792 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.22 m/s | 7,732 kWh | 86 years |
Counties around Wilkinson County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Concordia Parish, averages 4.14 m/s.
- West Feliciana Parish, LA: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Adams County, MS: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- East Feliciana Parish, LA: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Concordia Parish, LA: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Amite County, MS: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Franklin County, MS: 3.02 m/s, 2,661 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Wilkinson County
Wilkinson County gets 4.66 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,361 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 394. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 times as much here as the turbine. 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.