Wind Turbine Payback in Broward County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Broward 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 Broward County, FL averages 4.98 m/s (11.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,400 kWh a year, worth $1,900 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 53 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Broward County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Broward County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.98 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,410 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,240, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 40¢/kWh, 2.6 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.98. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Broward County is the 1,461st 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 Broward County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.76 m/s and about 1,524 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.62 m/s and 409 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Broward County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.62 m/s | 1,438 kWh | $220 |
| February | 5.48 m/s | 1,217 kWh | $186 |
| March | 5.76 m/s | 1,524 kWh | $233 |
| April | 5.53 m/s | 1,337 kWh | $205 |
| May | 5.02 m/s | 1,078 kWh | $165 |
| June | 3.98 m/s | 532 kWh | $82 |
| July | 3.62 m/s | 409 kWh | $63 |
| August | 3.75 m/s | 457 kWh | $70 |
| September | 4.29 m/s | 669 kWh | $102 |
| October | 5.39 m/s | 1,297 kWh | $199 |
| November | 5.65 m/s | 1,408 kWh | $216 |
| December | 5.60 m/s | 1,421 kWh | $218 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Broward County averages 4.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.39 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.156, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,395 to 15,247 kWh a year, 47% 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 | 4.67 m/s | 10,395 kWh | 63 years |
| 30 m | 4.98 m/s | 12,381 kWh | 53 years |
| 40 m | 5.21 m/s | 13,946 kWh | 47 years |
| 50 m | 5.39 m/s | 15,247 kWh | 43 years |
Counties around Broward County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Miami-Dade County, averages 5.33 m/s.
- Palm Beach County, FL: 4.67 m/s, 10,382 kWh, payback 63 years (32 mi)
- Miami-Dade County, FL: 5.33 m/s, 14,821 kWh, payback 44 years (40 mi)
- Hendry County, FL: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 80 years (48 mi)
- Monroe County, FL: 4.94 m/s, 12,132 kWh, payback 54 years (54 mi)
- Collier County, FL: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 69 years (58 mi)
- Martin County, FL: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 58 years (62 mi)
Sun versus wind in Broward County
Broward County gets 4.83 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,410 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,240. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.