Wind Turbine Payback in Christian County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Christian 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 Christian County, MO averages 4.56 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,702 kWh a year, worth $1,385 at MO's 14.28¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 72 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Christian County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Christian County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 4.56 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,285 kWh a year here against the turbine's 970, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 52¢/kWh, 3.6 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 4.56. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Christian County is the 1,711th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MO is Atchison County at 6.17 m/s, payback 33 years.
Month by month in Christian County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.29 m/s and about 1,233 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.47 m/s and 359 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Christian County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.08 m/s | 1,112 kWh | $159 |
| February | 5.20 m/s | 1,068 kWh | $153 |
| March | 5.29 m/s | 1,233 kWh | $176 |
| April | 5.33 m/s | 1,218 kWh | $174 |
| May | 4.55 m/s | 817 kWh | $117 |
| June | 3.98 m/s | 534 kWh | $76 |
| July | 3.47 m/s | 359 kWh | $51 |
| August | 3.56 m/s | 388 kWh | $55 |
| September | 3.91 m/s | 503 kWh | $72 |
| October | 4.58 m/s | 835 kWh | $119 |
| November | 4.91 m/s | 982 kWh | $140 |
| December | 4.91 m/s | 1,015 kWh | $145 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Christian County averages 3.23 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.36 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.315, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,659 to 15,034 kWh a year, 126% 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 | 4.02 m/s | 6,659 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.56 m/s | 9,722 kWh | 72 years |
| 40 m | 5 m/s | 12,509 kWh | 56 years |
| 50 m | 5.36 m/s | 15,034 kWh | 47 years |
Counties around Christian County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lawrence County, averages 5.5 m/s.
- Stone County, MO: 4.39 m/s, 8,690 kWh, payback 81 years (22 mi)
- Greene County, MO: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 65 years (22 mi)
- Taney County, MO: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Webster County, MO: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 65 years (28 mi)
- Lawrence County, MO: 5.5 m/s, 16,037 kWh, payback 44 years (37 mi)
- Douglas County, MO: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Christian County
Christian County gets 4.4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,285 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 970. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.