Wind Turbine Payback in Oklahoma County, OK
Wind turbine payback in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma County, OK averages 6.36 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,373 kWh a year, worth $3,090 at OK's 13.81¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 32 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Oklahoma County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Oklahoma County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 6.36 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,237, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.6 times what OK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 6.36. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of OK
Oklahoma County is the 393rd 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 Oklahoma County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.42 m/s and about 2,463 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.21 m/s and 1,190 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Oklahoma County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.52 m/s | 1,998 kWh | $276 |
| February | 6.61 m/s | 1,855 kWh | $256 |
| March | 7.02 m/s | 2,312 kWh | $319 |
| April | 7.42 m/s | 2,463 kWh | $340 |
| May | 6.60 m/s | 2,048 kWh | $283 |
| June | 6.26 m/s | 1,777 kWh | $245 |
| July | 5.38 m/s | 1,291 kWh | $178 |
| August | 5.21 m/s | 1,190 kWh | $164 |
| September | 5.64 m/s | 1,403 kWh | $194 |
| October | 6.51 m/s | 1,993 kWh | $275 |
| November | 6.82 m/s | 2,116 kWh | $292 |
| December | 6.46 m/s | 1,965 kWh | $271 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Oklahoma County averages 4.97 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.225, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,298 to 28,038 kWh a year, 53% 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 | 5.81 m/s | 18,298 kWh | 40 years |
| 30 m | 6.36 m/s | 22,408 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 6.79 m/s | 25,532 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 7.14 m/s | 28,038 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Oklahoma County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Canadian County, averages 6.41 m/s.
- Cleveland County, OK: 6.27 m/s, 21,706 kWh, payback 33 years (25 mi)
- Logan County, OK: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 33 years (25 mi)
- Lincoln County, OK: 6.24 m/s, 21,484 kWh, payback 34 years (31 mi)
- Canadian County, OK: 6.41 m/s, 22,743 kWh, payback 32 years (32 mi)
- Pottawatomie County, OK: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 34 years (35 mi)
- McClain County, OK: 6.27 m/s, 21,706 kWh, payback 33 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Oklahoma County
Oklahoma County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,237. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 times. 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.