Wind Turbine Payback in Briscoe County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Briscoe 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 Briscoe County, TX averages 6.35 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,299 kWh a year, worth $3,575 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Briscoe County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Briscoe County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.35 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,545 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,230, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.4 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.35. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Briscoe County is the 402nd 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 Briscoe County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.32 m/s and about 2,406 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.37 m/s and 1,282 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Briscoe County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.45 m/s | 1,956 kWh | $314 |
| February | 6.57 m/s | 1,838 kWh | $295 |
| March | 6.82 m/s | 2,184 kWh | $350 |
| April | 7.32 m/s | 2,406 kWh | $386 |
| May | 6.55 m/s | 2,018 kWh | $323 |
| June | 6.40 m/s | 1,861 kWh | $298 |
| July | 5.61 m/s | 1,430 kWh | $229 |
| August | 5.37 m/s | 1,282 kWh | $206 |
| September | 5.66 m/s | 1,416 kWh | $227 |
| October | 6.35 m/s | 1,895 kWh | $304 |
| November | 6.64 m/s | 2,006 kWh | $322 |
| December | 6.52 m/s | 2,001 kWh | $321 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Briscoe County averages 4.98 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.11 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,275 to 27,826 kWh a year, 52% 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 | 5.81 m/s | 18,275 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 6.35 m/s | 22,306 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.77 m/s | 25,369 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7.11 m/s | 27,826 kWh | 22 years |
Counties around Briscoe County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Swisher County, averages 6.48 m/s.
- Swisher County, TX: 6.48 m/s, 23,260 kWh, payback 27 years (31 mi)
- Armstrong County, TX: 6.44 m/s, 22,964 kWh, payback 27 years (32 mi)
- Floyd County, TX: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 27 years (32 mi)
- Hall County, TX: 6.1 m/s, 20,446 kWh, payback 31 years (36 mi)
- Donley County, TX: 6.29 m/s, 21,855 kWh, payback 29 years (37 mi)
- Motley County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Briscoe County
Briscoe County gets 5.29 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,545 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,230. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 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.