Wind Turbine Payback in Laclede County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Laclede 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 Laclede County, MO averages 3.81 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,660 kWh a year, worth $808 at MO's 14.28¢/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 Laclede County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Laclede County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.81 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,261 kWh a year here against the turbine's 566, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 88¢/kWh, 6.2 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.81. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Laclede County is the 2,203rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MO is Atchison County at 6.17 m/s, payback 33 years.
Month by month in Laclede County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.45 m/s and about 766 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.93 m/s and 205 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Laclede County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.32 m/s | 706 kWh | $101 |
| February | 4.41 m/s | 677 kWh | $97 |
| March | 4.45 m/s | 766 kWh | $109 |
| April | 4.42 m/s | 729 kWh | $104 |
| May | 3.75 m/s | 456 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.32 m/s | 299 kWh | $43 |
| July | 2.93 m/s | 205 kWh | $29 |
| August | 2.97 m/s | 215 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.27 m/s | 284 kWh | $41 |
| October | 3.79 m/s | 472 kWh | $67 |
| November | 4.06 m/s | 567 kWh | $81 |
| December | 4.12 m/s | 611 kWh | $87 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Laclede County averages 2.44 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.69 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.406, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,343 to 10,508 kWh a year, 214% 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 | 3.23 m/s | 3,343 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.81 m/s | 5,668 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.28 m/s | 8,085 kWh | 87 years |
| 50 m | 4.69 m/s | 10,508 kWh | 67 years |
Counties around Laclede County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Dallas County, averages 4.73 m/s.
- Dallas County, MO: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 65 years (24 mi)
- Pulaski County, MO: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Camden County, MO: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Wright County, MO: 3.81 m/s, 5,660 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Webster County, MO: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 65 years (30 mi)
- Miller County, MO: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Laclede County
Laclede County gets 4.32 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,261 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 566. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.