Wind Turbine Payback in Sebastian County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Sebastian 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 Sebastian County, AR averages 3.58 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,653 kWh a year, worth $639 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 Sebastian County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sebastian County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.58 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,296 kWh a year here against the turbine's 465, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 107¢/kWh, 7.8 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.58. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Sebastian County is the 2,429th 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 Sebastian County
April is the strongest month here, at 4.23 m/s and about 638 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.85 m/s and 186 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Sebastian County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.81 m/s | 481 kWh | $66 |
| February | 3.89 m/s | 464 kWh | $64 |
| March | 4.10 m/s | 604 kWh | $83 |
| April | 4.23 m/s | 638 kWh | $88 |
| May | 3.70 m/s | 438 kWh | $60 |
| June | 3.29 m/s | 292 kWh | $40 |
| July | 2.85 m/s | 186 kWh | $26 |
| August | 2.86 m/s | 188 kWh | $26 |
| September | 3.13 m/s | 247 kWh | $34 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 383 kWh | $53 |
| November | 3.80 m/s | 463 kWh | $64 |
| December | 3.70 m/s | 438 kWh | $60 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sebastian County averages 2.28 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.41 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.410, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,687 to 8,807 kWh a year, 228% 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 | 3.03 m/s | 2,687 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.58 m/s | 4,639 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.02 m/s | 6,701 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.41 m/s | 8,807 kWh | 83 years |
Counties around Sebastian County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sequoyah County, averages 4.62 m/s.
- Scott County, AR: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Crawford County, AR: 4.28 m/s, 8,064 kWh, payback 90 years (27 mi)
- Franklin County, AR: 3.43 m/s, 4,056 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Logan County, AR: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Le Flore County, OK: 4 m/s, 6,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Sequoyah County, OK: 4.62 m/s, 10,070 kWh, payback 72 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sebastian County
Sebastian County gets 4.44 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,296 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 465. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.8 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.