Wind Turbine Payback in Collier County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Collier 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 Collier County, FL averages 4.53 m/s (10.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,519 kWh a year, worth $1,458 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 69 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Collier County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Collier County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.53 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,469 kWh a year here against the turbine's 952, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 53¢/kWh, 3.4 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.53. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Collier County is the 1,731st 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 Collier County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.27 m/s and about 1,224 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.22 m/s and 279 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Collier County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.23 m/s | 1,198 kWh | $184 |
| February | 5.05 m/s | 987 kWh | $151 |
| March | 5.27 m/s | 1,224 kWh | $188 |
| April | 5.03 m/s | 1,048 kWh | $161 |
| May | 4.46 m/s | 773 kWh | $118 |
| June | 3.56 m/s | 375 kWh | $57 |
| July | 3.22 m/s | 279 kWh | $43 |
| August | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $49 |
| September | 3.92 m/s | 509 kWh | $78 |
| October | 4.93 m/s | 1,027 kWh | $157 |
| November | 5.18 m/s | 1,134 kWh | $174 |
| December | 5.18 m/s | 1,171 kWh | $179 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Collier County averages 3.56 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.220, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,324 to 13,010 kWh a year, 78% 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 | 4.14 m/s | 7,324 kWh | 89 years |
| 30 m | 4.53 m/s | 9,526 kWh | 69 years |
| 40 m | 4.83 m/s | 11,388 kWh | 57 years |
| 50 m | 5.07 m/s | 13,010 kWh | 50 years |
Counties around Collier County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Miami-Dade County, averages 5.33 m/s.
- Hendry County, FL: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 80 years (33 mi)
- Monroe County, FL: 4.94 m/s, 12,132 kWh, payback 54 years (44 mi)
- Lee County, FL: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 73 years (47 mi)
- Broward County, FL: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 53 years (58 mi)
- Glades County, FL: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 76 years (59 mi)
- Miami-Dade County, FL: 5.33 m/s, 14,821 kWh, payback 44 years (66 mi)
Sun versus wind in Collier County
Collier County gets 5.03 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,469 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 952. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.