Wind Turbine Payback in Stoddard County, MO
Wind turbine payback in Stoddard 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 Stoddard County, MO averages 4.52 m/s (10.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,459 kWh a year, worth $1,351 at MO's 14.28¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 74 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Stoddard County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Stoddard County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.2 m/s at the hub against 4.52 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,276 kWh a year here against the turbine's 946, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 53¢/kWh, 3.7 times what MO pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.2 m/s instead of 4.52. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MO
Stoddard County is the 1,739th 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 Stoddard County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.39 m/s and about 1,251 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.39 m/s and 332 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Stoddard County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.05 m/s | 1,091 kWh | $156 |
| February | 5.19 m/s | 1,062 kWh | $152 |
| March | 5.31 m/s | 1,246 kWh | $178 |
| April | 5.39 m/s | 1,251 kWh | $179 |
| May | 4.53 m/s | 811 kWh | $116 |
| June | 3.81 m/s | 465 kWh | $66 |
| July | 3.39 m/s | 332 kWh | $47 |
| August | 3.46 m/s | 354 kWh | $51 |
| September | 3.83 m/s | 472 kWh | $67 |
| October | 4.55 m/s | 819 kWh | $117 |
| November | 4.87 m/s | 962 kWh | $137 |
| December | 4.85 m/s | 979 kWh | $140 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Stoddard County averages 3.2 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.3 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.313, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,470 to 14,608 kWh a year, 126% 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 | 3.98 m/s | 6,470 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,440 kWh | 74 years |
| 40 m | 4.94 m/s | 12,148 kWh | 58 years |
| 50 m | 5.3 m/s | 14,608 kWh | 48 years |
Counties around Stoddard County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, New Madrid County, averages 5.54 m/s.
- New Madrid County, MO: 5.54 m/s, 16,326 kWh, payback 43 years (24 mi)
- Scott County, MO: 5.23 m/s, 14,116 kWh, payback 50 years (25 mi)
- Butler County, MO: 4.25 m/s, 7,897 kWh, payback 89 years (27 mi)
- Bollinger County, MO: 4.46 m/s, 9,100 kWh, payback 77 years (33 mi)
- Wayne County, MO: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Mississippi County, MO: 5.23 m/s, 14,116 kWh, payback 50 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Stoddard County
Stoddard County gets 4.37 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,276 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 946. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.3 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.