Wind Turbine Payback in Searcy County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Searcy 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 Searcy County, AR averages 3.35 m/s (7.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,757 kWh a year, worth $516 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 Searcy County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Searcy County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.35 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,279 kWh a year here against the turbine's 376, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 133¢/kWh, 9.7 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.35. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Searcy County is the 2,683rd 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 Searcy County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.89 m/s and about 513 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.59 m/s and 131 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Searcy County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.78 m/s | 469 kWh | $64 |
| February | 3.86 m/s | 451 kWh | $62 |
| March | 3.89 m/s | 513 kWh | $70 |
| April | 3.93 m/s | 512 kWh | $70 |
| May | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.92 m/s | 194 kWh | $27 |
| July | 2.59 m/s | 131 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.61 m/s | 134 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.90 m/s | 190 kWh | $26 |
| October | 3.33 m/s | 312 kWh | $43 |
| November | 3.59 m/s | 385 kWh | $53 |
| December | 3.56 m/s | 390 kWh | $54 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Searcy County averages 2.03 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.23 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.456, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,009 to 7,787 kWh a year, 288% 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 | 2.79 m/s | 2,009 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.35 m/s | 3,761 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.82 m/s | 5,710 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.23 m/s | 7,787 kWh | 94 years |
Counties around Searcy County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Boone County, averages 3.76 m/s.
- Van Buren County, AR: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Marion County, AR: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Newton County, AR: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Stone County, AR: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Baxter County, AR: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Boone County, AR: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Searcy County
Searcy County gets 4.38 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,279 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 376. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.4 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.