Wind Turbine Payback in Clark County, KS
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, KS averages 6.46 m/s (14.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 23,112 kWh a year, worth $3,527 at KS's 15.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 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, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 6.46 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,416 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,311, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.4 times what KS pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 6.46. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of KS
Clark County is the 239th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in KS is Edwards County at 6.68 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Clark County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.32 m/s and about 2,411 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.74 m/s and 1,513 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 41% of the year's output in Clark County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.15 m/s | 1,765 kWh | $269 |
| February | 6.31 m/s | 1,686 kWh | $257 |
| March | 6.82 m/s | 2,184 kWh | $333 |
| April | 7.32 m/s | 2,411 kWh | $368 |
| May | 6.71 m/s | 2,118 kWh | $323 |
| June | 6.77 m/s | 2,087 kWh | $318 |
| July | 5.92 m/s | 1,625 kWh | $248 |
| August | 5.74 m/s | 1,513 kWh | $231 |
| September | 6.46 m/s | 1,899 kWh | $290 |
| October | 6.56 m/s | 2,023 kWh | $309 |
| November | 6.56 m/s | 1,958 kWh | $299 |
| December | 6.23 m/s | 1,816 kWh | $277 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Clark County averages 5.07 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,998 to 28,671 kWh a year, 51% 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 | 5.9 m/s | 18,998 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.46 m/s | 23,099 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.88 m/s | 26,196 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7.23 m/s | 28,671 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Clark County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Kiowa County, averages 6.6 m/s.
- Meade County, KS: 6.52 m/s, 23,554 kWh, payback 28 years (30 mi)
- Harper County, OK: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 32 years (31 mi)
- Comanche County, KS: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 29 years (31 mi)
- Ford County, KS: 6.58 m/s, 23,996 kWh, payback 27 years (32 mi)
- Kiowa County, KS: 6.6 m/s, 24,142 kWh, payback 27 years (37 mi)
- Gray County, KS: 6.52 m/s, 23,554 kWh, payback 28 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Clark County
Clark County gets 4.85 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,416 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,311. 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.