Wind Turbine Payback in Cameron County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Cameron 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 Cameron County, TX averages 6.36 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,373 kWh a year, worth $3,586 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 Cameron County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Cameron County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.36 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,416 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,237, 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 6.36. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Cameron County is the 393rd 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 Cameron County
March is the strongest month here, at 7.05 m/s and about 2,325 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.19 m/s and 1,137 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Cameron County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.63 m/s | 2,069 kWh | $332 |
| February | 6.89 m/s | 2,015 kWh | $323 |
| March | 7.05 m/s | 2,325 kWh | $373 |
| April | 7.14 m/s | 2,302 kWh | $369 |
| May | 6.88 m/s | 2,225 kWh | $357 |
| June | 6.15 m/s | 1,711 kWh | $274 |
| July | 6.21 m/s | 1,808 kWh | $290 |
| August | 5.44 m/s | 1,327 kWh | $213 |
| September | 5.19 m/s | 1,137 kWh | $182 |
| October | 5.86 m/s | 1,585 kWh | $254 |
| November | 6.30 m/s | 1,804 kWh | $289 |
| December | 6.55 m/s | 2,018 kWh | $323 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Cameron County averages 5.14 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.02 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.194, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,792 to 27,186 kWh a year, 45% 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 | 5.88 m/s | 18,792 kWh | 33 years |
| 30 m | 6.36 m/s | 22,356 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.72 m/s | 25,039 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7.02 m/s | 27,186 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Cameron County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Willacy County, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Willacy County, TX: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 28 years (27 mi)
- Hidalgo County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (48 mi)
- Kenedy County, TX: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 28 years (55 mi)
- Brooks County, TX: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 32 years (79 mi)
- Starr County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (84 mi)
- Kleberg County, TX: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 30 years (93 mi)
Sun versus wind in Cameron County
Cameron County gets 4.85 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,416 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,237. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 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.