Wind Turbine Payback in Colorado County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Colorado 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 Colorado County, TX averages 5.24 m/s (11.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,186 kWh a year, worth $2,274 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 44 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Colorado County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Colorado County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.24 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,375 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,419, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 35¢/kWh, 2.2 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 5.24. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Colorado County is the 1,356th 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 Colorado County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.00 m/s and about 1,619 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.12 m/s and 613 kWh, so the best month makes 2.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Colorado County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.77 m/s | 1,530 kWh | $245 |
| February | 5.89 m/s | 1,446 kWh | $232 |
| March | 5.91 m/s | 1,618 kWh | $259 |
| April | 6.00 m/s | 1,619 kWh | $260 |
| May | 5.56 m/s | 1,398 kWh | $224 |
| June | 4.70 m/s | 871 kWh | $140 |
| July | 4.31 m/s | 698 kWh | $112 |
| August | 4.12 m/s | 613 kWh | $98 |
| September | 4.42 m/s | 730 kWh | $117 |
| October | 5.10 m/s | 1,123 kWh | $180 |
| November | 5.48 m/s | 1,306 kWh | $209 |
| December | 5.70 m/s | 1,486 kWh | $238 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Colorado County averages 3.99 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.95 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.248, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,829 to 19,334 kWh a year, 79% 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 | 4.74 m/s | 10,829 kWh | 58 years |
| 30 m | 5.24 m/s | 14,200 kWh | 44 years |
| 40 m | 5.63 m/s | 16,978 kWh | 37 years |
| 50 m | 5.95 m/s | 19,334 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Colorado County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Fayette County, averages 5.39 m/s.
- Austin County, TX: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 48 years (25 mi)
- Wharton County, TX: 5.24 m/s, 14,186 kWh, payback 44 years (28 mi)
- Lavaca County, TX: 5.36 m/s, 15,034 kWh, payback 42 years (29 mi)
- Fayette County, TX: 5.39 m/s, 15,247 kWh, payback 41 years (31 mi)
- Waller County, TX: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 48 years (43 mi)
- Washington County, TX: 5.09 m/s, 13,146 kWh, payback 48 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Colorado County
Colorado County gets 4.71 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,375 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,419. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.0 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.