Wind Turbine Payback in Aransas County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Aransas 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 Aransas County, TX averages 6.47 m/s (14.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 23,186 kWh a year, worth $3,717 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 27 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Aransas County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Aransas County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.47 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,419 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,319, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.3 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.47. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Aransas County is the 234th 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 Aransas County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.24 m/s and about 2,361 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.40 m/s and 1,302 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Aransas County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.83 m/s | 2,190 kWh | $351 |
| February | 6.95 m/s | 2,045 kWh | $328 |
| March | 7.01 m/s | 2,304 kWh | $369 |
| April | 7.24 m/s | 2,361 kWh | $378 |
| May | 6.97 m/s | 2,276 kWh | $365 |
| June | 6.19 m/s | 1,734 kWh | $278 |
| July | 5.96 m/s | 1,651 kWh | $265 |
| August | 5.40 m/s | 1,302 kWh | $209 |
| September | 5.63 m/s | 1,394 kWh | $223 |
| October | 6.15 m/s | 1,769 kWh | $284 |
| November | 6.53 m/s | 1,939 kWh | $311 |
| December | 6.78 m/s | 2,161 kWh | $346 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Aransas County averages 5.61 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.91 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.129, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,740 to 26,397 kWh a year, 27% 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 | 6.14 m/s | 20,740 kWh | 30 years |
| 30 m | 6.47 m/s | 23,181 kWh | 27 years |
| 40 m | 6.71 m/s | 24,976 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.91 m/s | 26,397 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Aransas County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Aransas County.
- Refugio County, TX: 5.79 m/s, 18,153 kWh, payback 34 years (18 mi)
- Calhoun County, TX: 5.79 m/s, 18,153 kWh, payback 34 years (32 mi)
- San Patricio County, TX: 5.89 m/s, 18,890 kWh, payback 33 years (34 mi)
- Nueces County, TX: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 30 years (43 mi)
- Victoria County, TX: 5.42 m/s, 15,462 kWh, payback 40 years (47 mi)
- Goliad County, TX: 5.6 m/s, 16,762 kWh, payback 37 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Aransas County
Aransas 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 2,319. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 times. 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.