Wind Turbine Payback in Anderson County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Anderson 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 Anderson County, TX averages 4.92 m/s (11 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,999 kWh a year, worth $1,923 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 52 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Anderson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Anderson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 4.92 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,358 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,200, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 42¢/kWh, 2.6 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 4.92. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Anderson County is the 1,495th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in TX is Dallam County at 6.82 m/s, payback 24 years.
Month by month in Anderson County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.62 m/s and about 1,436 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.95 m/s and 537 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Anderson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.38 m/s | 1,287 kWh | $206 |
| February | 5.54 m/s | 1,253 kWh | $201 |
| March | 5.62 m/s | 1,436 kWh | $230 |
| April | 5.64 m/s | 1,400 kWh | $224 |
| May | 5.03 m/s | 1,082 kWh | $173 |
| June | 4.37 m/s | 706 kWh | $113 |
| July | 4.03 m/s | 570 kWh | $91 |
| August | 3.95 m/s | 537 kWh | $86 |
| September | 4.16 m/s | 607 kWh | $97 |
| October | 4.82 m/s | 965 kWh | $155 |
| November | 5.26 m/s | 1,175 kWh | $188 |
| December | 5.28 m/s | 1,230 kWh | $197 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Anderson County averages 3.61 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.68 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.282, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,671 to 17,345 kWh a year, 100% 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 | 4.39 m/s | 8,671 kWh | 72 years |
| 30 m | 4.92 m/s | 11,986 kWh | 52 years |
| 40 m | 5.33 m/s | 14,846 kWh | 42 years |
| 50 m | 5.68 m/s | 17,345 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Anderson County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Freestone County, averages 5.43 m/s.
- Henderson County, TX: 4.92 m/s, 11,999 kWh, payback 52 years (28 mi)
- Cherokee County, TX: 4.17 m/s, 7,461 kWh, payback 84 years (30 mi)
- Freestone County, TX: 5.43 m/s, 15,534 kWh, payback 40 years (30 mi)
- Houston County, TX: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 66 years (38 mi)
- Leon County, TX: 5.43 m/s, 15,534 kWh, payback 40 years (42 mi)
- Smith County, TX: 4.64 m/s, 10,195 kWh, payback 61 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Anderson County
Anderson County gets 4.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,358 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,200. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.