Wind Turbine Payback in Clark County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Clark 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 Clark County, AR averages 3.13 m/s (7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,002 kWh a year, worth $412 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 Clark County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Clark County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.13 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,285 kWh a year here against the turbine's 300, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 167¢/kWh, 12.1 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.13. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Clark County is the 2,968th 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 Clark County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.62 m/s and about 395 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.56 m/s and 126 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 50% of the year's output in Clark County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.29 m/s | 300 kWh | $41 |
| February | 3.39 m/s | 300 kWh | $41 |
| March | 3.56 m/s | 389 kWh | $53 |
| April | 3.62 m/s | 395 kWh | $54 |
| May | 3.23 m/s | 282 kWh | $39 |
| June | 2.83 m/s | 176 kWh | $24 |
| July | 2.56 m/s | 126 kWh | $17 |
| August | 2.58 m/s | 128 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.88 m/s | 186 kWh | $26 |
| October | 3.13 m/s | 255 kWh | $35 |
| November | 3.34 m/s | 304 kWh | $42 |
| December | 3.23 m/s | 284 kWh | $39 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Clark County averages 1.85 m/s; at 50 m it is 4 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.479, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,519 to 6,577 kWh a year, 333% 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 | 2.58 m/s | 1,519 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.13 m/s | 3,008 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,713 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4 m/s | 6,577 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Clark County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Hempstead County, averages 3.55 m/s.
- Hot Spring County, AR: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Nevada County, AR: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Pike County, AR: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Dallas County, AR: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Hempstead County, AR: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Ouachita County, AR: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Clark County
Clark 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 300. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.3 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.