Wind Turbine Payback in Bradford County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Bradford 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 Bradford County, FL averages 3.85 m/s (8.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,847 kWh a year, worth $896 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 Bradford County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Bradford County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.85 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,419 kWh a year here against the turbine's 585, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 86¢/kWh, 5.6 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 3.85. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Bradford County is the 2,176th 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 Bradford County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.27 m/s and about 681 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.10 m/s and 246 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Bradford County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.20 m/s | 645 kWh | $99 |
| February | 4.18 m/s | 576 kWh | $88 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 681 kWh | $104 |
| April | 4.20 m/s | 628 kWh | $96 |
| May | 3.88 m/s | 508 kWh | $78 |
| June | 3.32 m/s | 300 kWh | $46 |
| July | 3.10 m/s | 246 kWh | $38 |
| August | 3.20 m/s | 274 kWh | $42 |
| September | 3.77 m/s | 449 kWh | $69 |
| October | 3.96 m/s | 543 kWh | $83 |
| November | 4.08 m/s | 576 kWh | $88 |
| December | 4.07 m/s | 587 kWh | $90 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Bradford County averages 2.77 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.300, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,983 to 9,279 kWh a year, 133% 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 | 3.41 m/s | 3,983 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.85 m/s | 5,857 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,619 kWh | 86 years |
| 50 m | 4.49 m/s | 9,279 kWh | 70 years |
Counties around Bradford County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Bradford County.
- Union County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Clay County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Alachua County, FL: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Baker County, FL: 3.01 m/s, 2,631 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Columbia County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
- Putnam County, FL: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Bradford County
Bradford 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 585. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.