Wind Turbine Payback in Baker County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Baker 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 Baker County, FL averages 3.01 m/s (6.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,631 kWh a year, worth $403 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 Baker County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Baker County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 kWh a year here against the turbine's 263, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 190¢/kWh, 12.4 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Baker County is the 3,056th 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 Baker County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.36 m/s and about 323 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.44 m/s and 105 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Baker County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.27 m/s | 294 kWh | $45 |
| February | 3.27 m/s | 268 kWh | $41 |
| March | 3.36 m/s | 323 kWh | $49 |
| April | 3.27 m/s | 287 kWh | $44 |
| May | 3.02 m/s | 225 kWh | $34 |
| June | 2.59 m/s | 127 kWh | $19 |
| July | 2.44 m/s | 105 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.51 m/s | 116 kWh | $18 |
| September | 2.88 m/s | 186 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.07 m/s | 239 kWh | $37 |
| November | 3.19 m/s | 262 kWh | $40 |
| December | 3.20 m/s | 273 kWh | $42 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Baker County averages 1.79 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.83 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.473, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,316 to 5,753 kWh a year, 337% 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 | 2.48 m/s | 1,316 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.01 m/s | 2,624 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.45 m/s | 4,119 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.83 m/s | 5,753 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Baker County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Bradford County, averages 3.85 m/s.
- Union County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Columbia County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Bradford County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Charlton County, GA: 3.28 m/s, 3,506 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Clay County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
- Nassau County, FL: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Baker County
Baker County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 263. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 5.3 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.