Wind Turbine Payback in Reynolds County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Reynolds 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 Reynolds County, MO averages 3.39 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,905 kWh a year, worth $558 at MO's 14.28¢/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 Reynolds County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Reynolds County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 3.39 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,241 kWh a year here against the turbine's 391, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 128¢/kWh, 9.0 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 3.39. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Reynolds County is the 2,638th 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 Reynolds County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.96 m/s and about 544 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.58 m/s and 130 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Reynolds County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.87 m/s | 505 kWh | $72 |
| February | 3.95 m/s | 485 kWh | $69 |
| March | 3.96 m/s | 544 kWh | $78 |
| April | 3.94 m/s | 517 kWh | $74 |
| May | 3.32 m/s | 309 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.91 m/s | 192 kWh | $27 |
| July | 2.58 m/s | 130 kWh | $19 |
| August | 2.63 m/s | 139 kWh | $20 |
| September | 2.91 m/s | 192 kWh | $27 |
| October | 3.36 m/s | 324 kWh | $46 |
| November | 3.60 m/s | 390 kWh | $56 |
| December | 3.65 m/s | 420 kWh | $60 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Reynolds County averages 2.04 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.29 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.462, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,071 to 8,120 kWh a year, 292% 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 | 2.81 m/s | 2,071 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.39 m/s | 3,898 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.87 m/s | 5,941 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.29 m/s | 8,120 kWh | 86 years |
Counties around Reynolds County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Iron County, averages 3.41 m/s.
- Iron County, MO: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Shannon County, MO: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Carter County, MO: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Dent County, MO: 3.39 m/s, 3,905 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Wayne County, MO: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Madison County, MO: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Reynolds County
Reynolds 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 391. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.2 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.