Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, MO averages 4.55 m/s (10.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,641 kWh a year, worth $1,377 at MO's 14.28¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 73 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lincoln County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lincoln County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 4.55 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,203 kWh a year here against the turbine's 964, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 52¢/kWh, 3.6 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 4.55. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Lincoln County is the 1,719th 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 Lincoln County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.26 m/s and about 1,214 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.48 m/s and 361 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.15 m/s | 1,153 kWh | $165 |
| February | 5.17 m/s | 1,051 kWh | $150 |
| March | 5.26 m/s | 1,214 kWh | $173 |
| April | 5.26 m/s | 1,175 kWh | $168 |
| May | 4.44 m/s | 765 kWh | $109 |
| June | 3.94 m/s | 517 kWh | $74 |
| July | 3.51 m/s | 370 kWh | $53 |
| August | 3.48 m/s | 361 kWh | $52 |
| September | 3.89 m/s | 496 kWh | $71 |
| October | 4.63 m/s | 862 kWh | $123 |
| November | 4.92 m/s | 988 kWh | $141 |
| December | 4.94 m/s | 1,030 kWh | $147 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 3.23 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.33 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.311, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,619 to 14,821 kWh a year, 124% 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 | 4.01 m/s | 6,619 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.55 m/s | 9,623 kWh | 73 years |
| 40 m | 4.97 m/s | 12,351 kWh | 57 years |
| 50 m | 5.33 m/s | 14,821 kWh | 47 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pike County, averages 5.62 m/s.
- Calhoun County, IL: 5.06 m/s, 12,941 kWh, payback 40 years (17 mi)
- Pike County, MO: 5.62 m/s, 16,907 kWh, payback 41 years (22 mi)
- Warren County, MO: 4.55 m/s, 9,641 kWh, payback 73 years (23 mi)
- St. Charles County, MO: 5.06 m/s, 12,941 kWh, payback 54 years (25 mi)
- Montgomery County, MO: 4.55 m/s, 9,641 kWh, payback 73 years (28 mi)
- Jersey County, IL: 5.06 m/s, 12,941 kWh, payback 40 years (32 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 4.12 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,203 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 964. 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.