Wind Turbine Payback in Ashley County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Ashley 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 Ashley County, AR averages 3.7 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,164 kWh a year, worth $710 at AR's 13.74¢/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 Ashley County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Ashley County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.7 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 516, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 97¢/kWh, 7.0 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.7. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Ashley County is the 2,288th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in AR is Mississippi County at 5.35 m/s, payback 49 years.
Month by month in Ashley County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.32 m/s and about 681 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.94 m/s and 206 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Ashley County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.99 m/s | 555 kWh | $76 |
| February | 4.12 m/s | 553 kWh | $76 |
| March | 4.24 m/s | 668 kWh | $92 |
| April | 4.32 m/s | 681 kWh | $94 |
| May | 3.75 m/s | 457 kWh | $63 |
| June | 3.28 m/s | 287 kWh | $39 |
| July | 2.94 m/s | 206 kWh | $28 |
| August | 2.99 m/s | 218 kWh | $30 |
| September | 3.36 m/s | 311 kWh | $43 |
| October | 3.63 m/s | 411 kWh | $56 |
| November | 3.90 m/s | 501 kWh | $69 |
| December | 3.93 m/s | 528 kWh | $73 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Ashley County averages 2.38 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.54 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.401, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,047 to 9,580 kWh a year, 214% 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 | 3.14 m/s | 3,047 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,160 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.15 m/s | 7,362 kWh | 99 years |
| 50 m | 4.54 m/s | 9,580 kWh | 76 years |
Counties around Ashley County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, West Carroll Parish, averages 4.9 m/s.
- Morehouse Parish, LA: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Drew County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Chicot County, AR: 4.75 m/s, 10,890 kWh, payback 67 years (28 mi)
- Bradley County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- West Carroll Parish, LA: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 64 years (33 mi)
- Union Parish, LA: 3.05 m/s, 2,751 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Ashley County
Ashley County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 516. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.