Wind Turbine Payback in Van Buren County, AR
Wind turbine payback in Van Buren 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 Van Buren County, AR averages 3.59 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,694 kWh a year, worth $645 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 Van Buren County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Van Buren County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.4 m/s at the hub against 3.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,279 kWh a year here against the turbine's 469, 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 3.59. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AR
Van Buren County is the 2,419th 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 Van Buren County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.16 m/s and about 628 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.78 m/s and 169 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Van Buren County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.99 m/s | 553 kWh | $76 |
| February | 4.08 m/s | 538 kWh | $74 |
| March | 4.16 m/s | 628 kWh | $86 |
| April | 4.18 m/s | 619 kWh | $85 |
| May | 3.59 m/s | 398 kWh | $55 |
| June | 3.08 m/s | 234 kWh | $32 |
| July | 2.78 m/s | 169 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.82 m/s | 178 kWh | $24 |
| September | 3.18 m/s | 260 kWh | $36 |
| October | 3.56 m/s | 389 kWh | $53 |
| November | 3.82 m/s | 470 kWh | $65 |
| December | 3.78 m/s | 470 kWh | $65 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Van Buren County averages 2.31 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.4 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.400, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,751 to 8,748 kWh a year, 218% 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 | 3.05 m/s | 2,751 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,681 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.02 m/s | 6,700 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.4 m/s | 8,748 kWh | 83 years |
Counties around Van Buren County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Faulkner County, averages 4.08 m/s.
- Searcy County, AR: 3.35 m/s, 3,757 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Conway County, AR: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Stone County, AR: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Cleburne County, AR: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Pope County, AR: 3.19 m/s, 3,198 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Faulkner County, AR: 4.08 m/s, 6,986 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
Sun versus wind in Van Buren County
Van Buren 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 469. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.7 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.