Wind Turbine Payback in Crockett County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Crockett 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 Crockett County, TX averages 6.23 m/s (13.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,410 kWh a year, worth $3,432 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Crockett County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Crockett County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.23 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,545 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,141, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/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 6.23. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Crockett County is the 550th 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 Crockett County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.02 m/s and about 2,234 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.65 m/s and 1,407 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 40% of the year's output in Crockett County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.92 m/s | 1,623 kWh | $260 |
| February | 6.33 m/s | 1,697 kWh | $272 |
| March | 6.65 m/s | 2,081 kWh | $334 |
| April | 7.02 m/s | 2,234 kWh | $358 |
| May | 6.75 m/s | 2,143 kWh | $344 |
| June | 6.61 m/s | 1,993 kWh | $319 |
| July | 6.05 m/s | 1,708 kWh | $274 |
| August | 5.72 m/s | 1,499 kWh | $240 |
| September | 5.65 m/s | 1,407 kWh | $226 |
| October | 6.15 m/s | 1,765 kWh | $283 |
| November | 6.08 m/s | 1,669 kWh | $268 |
| December | 5.88 m/s | 1,600 kWh | $256 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Crockett County averages 4.98 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.204, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,787 to 26,469 kWh a year, 49% 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 | 5.74 m/s | 17,787 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.24 m/s | 21,448 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.61 m/s | 24,231 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.92 m/s | 26,469 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Crockett County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Reagan County, averages 6.51 m/s.
- Reagan County, TX: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 27 years (46 mi)
- Irion County, TX: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 27 years (48 mi)
- Terrell County, TX: 5.56 m/s, 16,471 kWh, payback 38 years (52 mi)
- Schleicher County, TX: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 28 years (53 mi)
- Sutton County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (55 mi)
- Upton County, TX: 6.37 m/s, 22,447 kWh, payback 28 years (58 mi)
Sun versus wind in Crockett County
Crockett County gets 5.29 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,545 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,141. 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.