Wind Turbine Payback in Lawrence County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, AR averages 3.94 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,280 kWh a year, worth $863 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 Lawrence County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lawrence County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.94 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,282 kWh a year here against the turbine's 628, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 80¢/kWh, 5.8 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.94. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Lawrence County is the 2,096th 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 Lawrence County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.66 m/s and about 876 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.96 m/s and 211 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Lawrence County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.48 m/s | 781 kWh | $107 |
| February | 4.58 m/s | 752 kWh | $103 |
| March | 4.66 m/s | 876 kWh | $120 |
| April | 4.67 m/s | 852 kWh | $117 |
| May | 3.92 m/s | 525 kWh | $72 |
| June | 3.29 m/s | 292 kWh | $40 |
| July | 2.96 m/s | 211 kWh | $29 |
| August | 3.00 m/s | 222 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.37 m/s | 315 kWh | $43 |
| October | 3.87 m/s | 504 kWh | $69 |
| November | 4.20 m/s | 627 kWh | $86 |
| December | 4.23 m/s | 660 kWh | $91 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lawrence County averages 2.65 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.360, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,946 to 10,762 kWh a year, 173% 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 | 3.4 m/s | 3,946 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.94 m/s | 6,257 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,545 kWh | 85 years |
| 50 m | 4.73 m/s | 10,762 kWh | 68 years |
Counties around Lawrence County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Craighead County, averages 4.96 m/s.
- Randolph County, AR: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Sharp County, AR: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Craighead County, AR: 4.96 m/s, 12,266 kWh, payback 59 years (30 mi)
- Greene County, AR: 4.96 m/s, 12,266 kWh, payback 59 years (30 mi)
- Jackson County, AR: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 69 years (31 mi)
- Independence County, AR: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 69 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lawrence County
Lawrence County gets 4.39 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,282 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 628. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.0 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.