Wind Turbine Payback in Canadian County, OK
Wind turbine payback in Canadian 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 Canadian County, OK averages 6.41 m/s (14.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,743 kWh a year, worth $3,141 at OK's 13.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 32 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Canadian County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Canadian County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 6.41 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,274, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.6 times what OK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 6.41. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OK
Canadian County is the 309th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OK is Cimarron County at 6.82 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in Canadian County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.39 m/s and about 2,449 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.38 m/s and 1,288 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Canadian County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.45 m/s | 1,955 kWh | $270 |
| February | 6.53 m/s | 1,811 kWh | $250 |
| March | 6.96 m/s | 2,275 kWh | $314 |
| April | 7.39 m/s | 2,449 kWh | $338 |
| May | 6.66 m/s | 2,088 kWh | $288 |
| June | 6.45 m/s | 1,892 kWh | $261 |
| July | 5.56 m/s | 1,397 kWh | $193 |
| August | 5.38 m/s | 1,288 kWh | $178 |
| September | 5.81 m/s | 1,502 kWh | $207 |
| October | 6.57 m/s | 2,033 kWh | $281 |
| November | 6.78 m/s | 2,090 kWh | $289 |
| December | 6.43 m/s | 1,944 kWh | $268 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Canadian County averages 5 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.2 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,579 to 28,461 kWh a year, 53% 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 | 5.85 m/s | 18,579 kWh | 39 years |
| 30 m | 6.41 m/s | 22,755 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 6.84 m/s | 25,924 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 7.2 m/s | 28,461 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around Canadian County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Canadian County.
- Kingfisher County, OK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 32 years (28 mi)
- Oklahoma County, OK: 6.36 m/s, 22,373 kWh, payback 32 years (32 mi)
- Blaine County, OK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 32 years (34 mi)
- Caddo County, OK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 34 years (34 mi)
- Grady County, OK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 34 years (36 mi)
- Logan County, OK: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 33 years (39 mi)
Sun versus wind in Canadian County
Canadian County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,274. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 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.