Wind Turbine Payback in Cleveland County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Cleveland 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 Cleveland County, AR averages 3.14 m/s (7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,034 kWh a year, worth $417 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 Cleveland County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Cleveland County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.14 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,311 kWh a year here against the turbine's 303, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 165¢/kWh, 12.0 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.14. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Cleveland County is the 2,952nd 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 Cleveland County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.63 m/s and about 399 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.56 m/s and 125 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Cleveland County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.31 m/s | 306 kWh | $42 |
| February | 3.42 m/s | 309 kWh | $42 |
| March | 3.57 m/s | 393 kWh | $54 |
| April | 3.63 m/s | 399 kWh | $55 |
| May | 3.21 m/s | 278 kWh | $38 |
| June | 2.85 m/s | 178 kWh | $24 |
| July | 2.56 m/s | 125 kWh | $17 |
| August | 2.60 m/s | 134 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.90 m/s | 190 kWh | $26 |
| October | 3.13 m/s | 256 kWh | $35 |
| November | 3.35 m/s | 308 kWh | $42 |
| December | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $39 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Cleveland County averages 1.85 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.02 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.482, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,531 to 6,678 kWh a year, 336% 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 | 1,531 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.14 m/s | 3,043 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.61 m/s | 4,778 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.02 m/s | 6,678 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Cleveland County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jefferson County, averages 4.65 m/s.
- Lincoln County, AR: 4.04 m/s, 6,780 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Dallas County, AR: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Bradley County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Calhoun County, AR: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Grant County, AR: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Jefferson County, AR: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 71 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Cleveland County
Cleveland County gets 4.49 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,311 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 303. 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.