Wind Turbine Payback in Alachua County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Alachua 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 Alachua County, FL averages 3.59 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,694 kWh a year, worth $719 at FL's 15.32¢/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 Alachua County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Alachua County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,419 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, 7.0 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 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 FL
Alachua 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 FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Alachua County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.05 m/s and about 581 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.80 m/s and 174 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Alachua County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 563 kWh | $86 |
| February | 3.95 m/s | 486 kWh | $74 |
| March | 4.05 m/s | 581 kWh | $89 |
| April | 3.89 m/s | 497 kWh | $76 |
| May | 3.56 m/s | 387 kWh | $59 |
| June | 3.07 m/s | 231 kWh | $35 |
| July | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $27 |
| August | 2.94 m/s | 205 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.43 m/s | 334 kWh | $51 |
| October | 3.70 m/s | 438 kWh | $67 |
| November | 3.86 m/s | 484 kWh | $74 |
| December | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $79 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Alachua County averages 2.46 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.28 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.344, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,979 to 8,064 kWh a year, 171% 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 | 3.12 m/s | 2,979 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,695 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.96 m/s | 6,397 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.28 m/s | 8,064 kWh | 81 years |
Counties around Alachua County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Marion County, averages 4.42 m/s.
- Bradford County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Union County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Gilchrist County, FL: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Clay County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Marion County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (38 mi)
- Putnam County, FL: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Alachua County
Alachua County gets 4.86 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,419 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 469. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.0 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.