Wind Turbine Payback in Citrus County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Citrus 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 Citrus County, FL averages 4.21 m/s (9.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,678 kWh a year, worth $1,176 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 85 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Citrus County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Citrus County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.21 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,448 kWh a year here against the turbine's 768, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 65¢/kWh, 4.3 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.21. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Citrus County is the 1,944th 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 Citrus County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.78 m/s and about 942 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.17 m/s and 265 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Citrus County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.78 m/s | 942 kWh | $144 |
| February | 4.66 m/s | 791 kWh | $121 |
| March | 4.77 m/s | 937 kWh | $144 |
| April | 4.53 m/s | 781 kWh | $120 |
| May | 4.10 m/s | 601 kWh | $92 |
| June | 3.53 m/s | 365 kWh | $56 |
| July | 3.17 m/s | 265 kWh | $41 |
| August | 3.34 m/s | 317 kWh | $49 |
| September | 4.00 m/s | 541 kWh | $83 |
| October | 4.41 m/s | 750 kWh | $115 |
| November | 4.62 m/s | 825 kWh | $126 |
| December | 4.67 m/s | 881 kWh | $135 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Citrus County averages 3.18 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.8 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.256, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,598 to 11,212 kWh a year, 100% 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 | 3.8 m/s | 5,598 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,686 kWh | 85 years |
| 40 m | 4.53 m/s | 9,540 kWh | 68 years |
| 50 m | 4.8 m/s | 11,212 kWh | 58 years |
Counties around Citrus County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Hernando County, averages 4.66 m/s.
- Hernando County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (21 mi)
- Levy County, FL: 4.05 m/s, 6,831 kWh, payback 96 years (32 mi)
- Sumter County, FL: 4.54 m/s, 9,580 kWh, payback 68 years (33 mi)
- Pasco County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (38 mi)
- Marion County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (41 mi)
- Lake County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (54 mi)
Sun versus wind in Citrus County
Citrus County gets 4.96 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,448 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 768. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.