Wind Turbine Payback in Desha County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Desha 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 Desha County, AR averages 4.82 m/s (10.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,341 kWh a year, worth $1,558 at AR's 13.74¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 64 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Desha County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Desha County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 4.82 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,134, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 44¢/kWh, 3.2 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 4.82. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Desha County is the 1,546th 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 Desha County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.65 m/s and about 1,455 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.54 m/s and 383 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Desha County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.43 m/s | 1,321 kWh | $182 |
| February | 5.55 m/s | 1,256 kWh | $173 |
| March | 5.65 m/s | 1,455 kWh | $200 |
| April | 5.71 m/s | 1,445 kWh | $199 |
| May | 4.88 m/s | 994 kWh | $137 |
| June | 4.07 m/s | 568 kWh | $78 |
| July | 3.54 m/s | 383 kWh | $53 |
| August | 3.62 m/s | 410 kWh | $56 |
| September | 4.19 m/s | 621 kWh | $85 |
| October | 4.72 m/s | 908 kWh | $125 |
| November | 5.23 m/s | 1,162 kWh | $160 |
| December | 5.33 m/s | 1,258 kWh | $173 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Desha County averages 3.58 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.54 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.271, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,300 to 16,326 kWh a year, 97% 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 | 4.32 m/s | 8,300 kWh | 88 years |
| 30 m | 4.82 m/s | 11,366 kWh | 64 years |
| 40 m | 5.21 m/s | 14,011 kWh | 52 years |
| 50 m | 5.54 m/s | 16,326 kWh | 45 years |
Counties around Desha County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sunflower County, averages 4.95 m/s.
- Bolivar County, MS: 4.89 m/s, 11,800 kWh, payback 56 years (21 mi)
- Lincoln County, AR: 4.04 m/s, 6,780 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Drew County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Arkansas County, AR: 4.94 m/s, 12,132 kWh, payback 60 years (33 mi)
- Chicot County, AR: 4.75 m/s, 10,890 kWh, payback 67 years (39 mi)
- Sunflower County, MS: 4.95 m/s, 12,199 kWh, payback 54 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Desha County
Desha County gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,134. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.