Wind Turbine Payback in Little River County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Little River 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 Little River County, AR averages 4.42 m/s (9.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,865 kWh a year, worth $1,218 at AR's 13.74¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 82 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Little River County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Little River County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 4.42 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,323 kWh a year here against the turbine's 887, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 56¢/kWh, 4.1 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 4.42. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Little River County is the 1,799th 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 Little River County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.11 m/s and about 1,126 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.49 m/s and 363 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Little River County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.74 m/s | 917 kWh | $126 |
| February | 4.91 m/s | 914 kWh | $126 |
| March | 5.11 m/s | 1,126 kWh | $155 |
| April | 5.16 m/s | 1,119 kWh | $154 |
| May | 4.56 m/s | 826 kWh | $113 |
| June | 3.90 m/s | 500 kWh | $69 |
| July | 3.50 m/s | 369 kWh | $51 |
| August | 3.49 m/s | 363 kWh | $50 |
| September | 3.88 m/s | 493 kWh | $68 |
| October | 4.37 m/s | 730 kWh | $100 |
| November | 4.76 m/s | 901 kWh | $124 |
| December | 4.65 m/s | 871 kWh | $120 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Little River County averages 3.2 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.13 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.293, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,192 to 13,421 kWh a year, 117% 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 | 3.92 m/s | 6,192 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.42 m/s | 8,847 kWh | 82 years |
| 40 m | 4.81 m/s | 11,246 kWh | 65 years |
| 50 m | 5.13 m/s | 13,421 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Little River County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Little River County.
- Sevier County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Bowie County, TX: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 70 years (21 mi)
- Howard County, AR: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Hempstead County, AR: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Miller County, AR: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- McCurtain County, OK: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Little River County
Little River County gets 4.53 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,323 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 887. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.