Wind Turbine Payback in Hot Spring County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Hot Spring 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 Hot Spring County, AR averages 3.22 m/s (7.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,299 kWh a year, worth $453 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 Hot Spring County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hot Spring County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.22 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 330, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 152¢/kWh, 11.0 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.22. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Hot Spring County is the 2,857th 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 Hot Spring County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.74 m/s and about 439 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.63 m/s and 139 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Hot Spring County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.41 m/s | 337 kWh | $46 |
| February | 3.48 m/s | 326 kWh | $45 |
| March | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $58 |
| April | 3.74 m/s | 439 kWh | $60 |
| May | 3.30 m/s | 303 kWh | $42 |
| June | 2.89 m/s | 187 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.63 m/s | 139 kWh | $19 |
| August | 2.63 m/s | 139 kWh | $19 |
| September | 2.95 m/s | 202 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.23 m/s | 282 kWh | $39 |
| November | 3.43 m/s | 334 kWh | $46 |
| December | 3.31 m/s | 308 kWh | $42 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hot Spring County averages 1.94 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.460, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,726 to 6,934 kWh a year, 302% 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 | 2.67 m/s | 1,726 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.22 m/s | 3,291 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.67 m/s | 5,047 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,934 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Hot Spring County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Saline County, averages 3.49 m/s.
- Garland County, AR: 3.22 m/s, 3,299 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Clark County, AR: 3.13 m/s, 3,002 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Saline County, AR: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Dallas County, AR: 3.14 m/s, 3,034 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Grant County, AR: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Pike County, AR: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hot Spring County
Hot Spring County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 330. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.9 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.