Wind Turbine Payback in Concho County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Concho 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 Concho County, TX averages 6.07 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,223 kWh a year, worth $3,242 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Concho County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Concho County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.07 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,486 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,022, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.5 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.07. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Concho County is the 717th 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 Concho County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.96 m/s and about 2,197 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.24 m/s and 1,163 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Concho County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.17 m/s | 1,782 kWh | $286 |
| February | 6.41 m/s | 1,746 kWh | $280 |
| March | 6.66 m/s | 2,089 kWh | $335 |
| April | 6.96 m/s | 2,197 kWh | $352 |
| May | 6.44 m/s | 1,950 kWh | $313 |
| June | 6.07 m/s | 1,664 kWh | $267 |
| July | 5.47 m/s | 1,342 kWh | $215 |
| August | 5.21 m/s | 1,186 kWh | $190 |
| September | 5.24 m/s | 1,163 kWh | $186 |
| October | 5.98 m/s | 1,658 kWh | $266 |
| November | 6.21 m/s | 1,746 kWh | $280 |
| December | 6.15 m/s | 1,765 kWh | $283 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Concho County averages 4.75 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.81 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.224, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,372 to 25,675 kWh a year, 57% 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 | 5.55 m/s | 16,372 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 6.07 m/s | 20,250 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.48 m/s | 23,245 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 6.81 m/s | 25,675 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Concho County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Schleicher County, averages 6.39 m/s.
- Menard County, TX: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- McCulloch County, TX: 5.98 m/s, 19,556 kWh, payback 32 years (31 mi)
- Tom Green County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (36 mi)
- Runnels County, TX: 6.15 m/s, 20,816 kWh, payback 30 years (37 mi)
- Schleicher County, TX: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 28 years (49 mi)
- Coleman County, TX: 6.11 m/s, 20,520 kWh, payback 30 years (51 mi)
Sun versus wind in Concho County
Concho County gets 5.09 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,486 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,022. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 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.