Wind Turbine Payback in McCurtain County, OK
Wind turbine payback in McCurtain 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 McCurtain County, OK averages 3.76 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,432 kWh a year, worth $750 at OK's 13.81¢/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 McCurtain County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in McCurtain County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.76 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,288 kWh a year here against the turbine's 543, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 92¢/kWh, 6.7 times what OK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.76. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OK
McCurtain County is the 2,236th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in OK is Cimarron County at 6.82 m/s, payback 28 years.
Month by month in McCurtain County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.34 m/s and about 712 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.04 m/s and 231 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in McCurtain County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.00 m/s | 560 kWh | $77 |
| February | 4.12 m/s | 554 kWh | $77 |
| March | 4.34 m/s | 712 kWh | $98 |
| April | 4.37 m/s | 705 kWh | $97 |
| May | 3.88 m/s | 509 kWh | $70 |
| June | 3.43 m/s | 334 kWh | $46 |
| July | 3.05 m/s | 233 kWh | $32 |
| August | 3.04 m/s | 231 kWh | $32 |
| September | 3.33 m/s | 304 kWh | $42 |
| October | 3.73 m/s | 451 kWh | $62 |
| November | 4.00 m/s | 542 kWh | $75 |
| December | 3.89 m/s | 512 kWh | $71 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in McCurtain County averages 2.42 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.61 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.400, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,216 to 10,008 kWh a year, 211% 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 | 3.2 m/s | 3,216 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.76 m/s | 5,423 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.22 m/s | 7,712 kWh | 94 years |
| 50 m | 4.61 m/s | 10,008 kWh | 72 years |
Counties around McCurtain County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Red River County, averages 5.04 m/s.
- Sevier County, AR: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Red River County, TX: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 49 years (38 mi)
- Polk County, AR: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (40 mi)
- Pushmataha County, OK: 4.18 m/s, 7,515 kWh, payback 96 years (41 mi)
- Little River County, AR: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 82 years (42 mi)
- Howard County, AR: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (44 mi)
Sun versus wind in McCurtain County
McCurtain County gets 4.41 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,288 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 543. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.