Wind Turbine Payback in Stone County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Stone 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 Stone County, AR averages 3.32 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,648 kWh a year, worth $501 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 Stone County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Stone County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.32 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,279 kWh a year here against the turbine's 365, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 137¢/kWh, 10.0 times what AR pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.4 m/s instead of 3.32. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Stone County is the 2,715th 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 Stone County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.90 m/s and about 517 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.53 m/s and 120 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Stone County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.79 m/s | 473 kWh | $65 |
| February | 3.86 m/s | 453 kWh | $62 |
| March | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $71 |
| April | 3.90 m/s | 501 kWh | $69 |
| May | 3.30 m/s | 304 kWh | $42 |
| June | 2.81 m/s | 170 kWh | $23 |
| July | 2.53 m/s | 120 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.56 m/s | 125 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 181 kWh | $25 |
| October | 3.28 m/s | 297 kWh | $41 |
| November | 3.55 m/s | 371 kWh | $51 |
| December | 3.57 m/s | 391 kWh | $54 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Stone County averages 2.01 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.2 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.458, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,946 to 7,623 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 | 2.76 m/s | 1,946 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.32 m/s | 3,662 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.79 m/s | 5,577 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,623 kWh | 96 years |
Counties around Stone County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Independence County, averages 4.7 m/s.
- Cleburne County, AR: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Izard County, AR: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Van Buren County, AR: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Baxter County, AR: 3.36 m/s, 3,794 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Searcy County, AR: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Independence County, AR: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 69 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Stone County
Stone 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 365. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 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.