Wind Turbine Payback in Lafayette County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Lafayette 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 Lafayette County, AR averages 3.39 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,905 kWh a year, worth $537 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 Lafayette County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lafayette County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.39 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,314 kWh a year here against the turbine's 391, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 128¢/kWh, 9.3 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.39. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Lafayette County is the 2,638th 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 Lafayette County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.92 m/s and about 510 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.74 m/s and 160 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Lafayette County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.62 m/s | 408 kWh | $56 |
| February | 3.72 m/s | 404 kWh | $56 |
| March | 3.85 m/s | 497 kWh | $68 |
| April | 3.92 m/s | 510 kWh | $70 |
| May | 3.50 m/s | 366 kWh | $50 |
| June | 3.01 m/s | 217 kWh | $30 |
| July | 2.74 m/s | 160 kWh | $22 |
| August | 2.76 m/s | 165 kWh | $23 |
| September | 3.07 m/s | 231 kWh | $32 |
| October | 3.37 m/s | 327 kWh | $45 |
| November | 3.62 m/s | 398 kWh | $55 |
| December | 3.55 m/s | 385 kWh | $53 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lafayette County averages 2.14 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.2 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.419, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,208 to 7,623 kWh a year, 245% 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 | 2.86 m/s | 2,208 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.39 m/s | 3,908 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.83 m/s | 5,731 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,623 kWh | 96 years |
Counties around Lafayette County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Miller County, averages 3.55 m/s.
- Miller County, AR: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- Columbia County, AR: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Nevada County, AR: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Hempstead County, AR: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Bossier Parish, LA: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
- Webster Parish, LA: 3.16 m/s, 3,099 kWh, payback over 100 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lafayette County
Lafayette County gets 4.5 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,314 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 391. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.4 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.