Wind Turbine Payback in Cleveland County, OK
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, OK averages 6.27 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,706 kWh a year, worth $2,998 at OK's 13.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 33 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 6.27 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,171, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.7 times what OK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 6.27. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OK
Cleveland County is the 510th 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 Cleveland County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.29 m/s and about 2,389 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.11 m/s and 1,126 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 47% of the year's output in Cleveland County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.46 m/s | 1,962 kWh | $271 |
| February | 6.60 m/s | 1,853 kWh | $256 |
| March | 6.99 m/s | 2,292 kWh | $317 |
| April | 7.29 m/s | 2,389 kWh | $330 |
| May | 6.50 m/s | 1,990 kWh | $275 |
| June | 6.08 m/s | 1,666 kWh | $230 |
| July | 5.21 m/s | 1,189 kWh | $164 |
| August | 5.11 m/s | 1,126 kWh | $156 |
| September | 5.50 m/s | 1,317 kWh | $182 |
| October | 6.37 m/s | 1,906 kWh | $263 |
| November | 6.75 m/s | 2,076 kWh | $287 |
| December | 6.40 m/s | 1,923 kWh | $266 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Cleveland County averages 4.88 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.05 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.229, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,606 to 27,400 kWh a year, 56% 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 | 5.72 m/s | 17,606 kWh | 41 years |
| 30 m | 6.27 m/s | 21,719 kWh | 33 years |
| 40 m | 6.7 m/s | 24,865 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 7.05 m/s | 27,400 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Cleveland County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Oklahoma County, averages 6.36 m/s.
- McClain County, OK: 6.27 m/s, 21,706 kWh, payback 33 years (15 mi)
- Pottawatomie County, OK: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 34 years (21 mi)
- Oklahoma County, OK: 6.36 m/s, 22,373 kWh, payback 32 years (25 mi)
- Grady County, OK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 34 years (34 mi)
- Garvin County, OK: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 36 years (34 mi)
- Seminole County, OK: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 34 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Cleveland County
Cleveland 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 2,171. 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.