Wind Turbine Payback in Atascosa County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Atascosa 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 Atascosa County, TX averages 5.31 m/s (11.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,679 kWh a year, worth $2,353 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 43 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Atascosa County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Atascosa County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.31 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,434 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,468, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 34¢/kWh, 2.1 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 5.31. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Atascosa County is the 1,323rd 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 Atascosa County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.98 m/s and about 1,610 kWh. September is the weakest, 4.68 m/s and 857 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Atascosa County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.23 m/s | 1,198 kWh | $192 |
| February | 5.47 m/s | 1,213 kWh | $194 |
| March | 5.76 m/s | 1,524 kWh | $244 |
| April | 5.98 m/s | 1,610 kWh | $258 |
| May | 5.85 m/s | 1,580 kWh | $253 |
| June | 5.37 m/s | 1,242 kWh | $199 |
| July | 5.07 m/s | 1,104 kWh | $177 |
| August | 4.77 m/s | 938 kWh | $150 |
| September | 4.68 m/s | 857 kWh | $137 |
| October | 5.12 m/s | 1,135 kWh | $182 |
| November | 5.26 m/s | 1,180 kWh | $189 |
| December | 5.17 m/s | 1,166 kWh | $187 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Atascosa County averages 4.12 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.97 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.230, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,443 to 19,482 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.84 m/s | 11,443 kWh | 55 years |
| 30 m | 5.31 m/s | 14,666 kWh | 43 years |
| 40 m | 5.67 m/s | 17,282 kWh | 36 years |
| 50 m | 5.97 m/s | 19,482 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Atascosa County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Live Oak County, averages 5.6 m/s.
- Wilson County, TX: 5.39 m/s, 15,247 kWh, payback 41 years (33 mi)
- Frio County, TX: 5.29 m/s, 14,538 kWh, payback 43 years (35 mi)
- McMullen County, TX: 5.49 m/s, 15,965 kWh, payback 39 years (35 mi)
- Bexar County, TX: 5.38 m/s, 15,176 kWh, payback 41 years (39 mi)
- Karnes County, TX: 5.39 m/s, 15,247 kWh, payback 41 years (41 mi)
- Live Oak County, TX: 5.6 m/s, 16,762 kWh, payback 37 years (45 mi)
Sun versus wind in Atascosa County
Atascosa County gets 4.91 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,434 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,468. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.0 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.