Wind Turbine Payback in Madison County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Madison 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 Madison County, AR averages 3.63 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,862 kWh a year, worth $668 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 Madison County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Madison County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.63 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,285 kWh a year here against the turbine's 486, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 103¢/kWh, 7.5 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.63. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Madison County is the 2,354th 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 Madison County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.24 m/s and about 643 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.81 m/s and 177 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Madison County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 564 kWh | $77 |
| February | 4.11 m/s | 547 kWh | $75 |
| March | 4.18 m/s | 639 kWh | $88 |
| April | 4.24 m/s | 643 kWh | $88 |
| May | 3.64 m/s | 417 kWh | $57 |
| June | 3.22 m/s | 272 kWh | $37 |
| July | 2.81 m/s | 177 kWh | $24 |
| August | 2.84 m/s | 182 kWh | $25 |
| September | 3.18 m/s | 261 kWh | $36 |
| October | 3.59 m/s | 400 kWh | $55 |
| November | 3.86 m/s | 484 kWh | $67 |
| December | 3.84 m/s | 491 kWh | $67 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Madison County averages 2.27 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.51 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,750 to 9,399 kWh a year, 242% 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 | 3.05 m/s | 2,750 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.63 m/s | 4,846 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,091 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.51 m/s | 9,399 kWh | 77 years |
Counties around Madison County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Benton County, averages 4.69 m/s.
- Carroll County, AR: 4.39 m/s, 8,690 kWh, payback 84 years (25 mi)
- Washington County, AR: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Newton County, AR: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Johnson County, AR: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Franklin County, AR: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Benton County, AR: 4.69 m/s, 10,508 kWh, payback 69 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Madison County
Madison County gets 4.4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,285 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 486. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.