Wind Turbine Payback in Perry County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Perry 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 Perry County, MO averages 4.46 m/s (10 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,100 kWh a year, worth $1,300 at MO's 14.28¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 77 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Perry County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Perry County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 4.46 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,241 kWh a year here against the turbine's 910, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 55¢/kWh, 3.8 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 4.46. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Perry County is the 1,772nd 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 Perry County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.20 m/s and about 1,184 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.38 m/s and 329 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Perry County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.05 m/s | 1,094 kWh | $156 |
| February | 5.14 m/s | 1,033 kWh | $148 |
| March | 5.20 m/s | 1,184 kWh | $169 |
| April | 5.26 m/s | 1,175 kWh | $168 |
| May | 4.45 m/s | 766 kWh | $109 |
| June | 3.78 m/s | 455 kWh | $65 |
| July | 3.38 m/s | 329 kWh | $47 |
| August | 3.43 m/s | 345 kWh | $49 |
| September | 3.77 m/s | 451 kWh | $64 |
| October | 4.50 m/s | 792 kWh | $113 |
| November | 4.84 m/s | 942 kWh | $135 |
| December | 4.82 m/s | 964 kWh | $138 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Perry County averages 3.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.24 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.314, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,230 to 14,186 kWh a year, 128% 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 | 3.93 m/s | 6,230 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,121 kWh | 77 years |
| 40 m | 4.89 m/s | 11,770 kWh | 60 years |
| 50 m | 5.24 m/s | 14,186 kWh | 49 years |
Counties around Perry County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jackson County, averages 5.34 m/s.
- Ste. Genevieve County, MO: 4.69 m/s, 10,508 kWh, payback 67 years (23 mi)
- Cape Girardeau County, MO: 4.69 m/s, 10,508 kWh, payback 67 years (23 mi)
- Jackson County, IL: 5.34 m/s, 14,892 kWh, payback 35 years (24 mi)
- Randolph County, IL: 4.69 m/s, 10,508 kWh, payback 50 years (24 mi)
- Bollinger County, MO: 4.46 m/s, 9,100 kWh, payback 77 years (30 mi)
- Madison County, MO: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Perry County
Perry County gets 4.25 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,241 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 910. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.