Wind Turbine Payback in Flagler County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Flagler 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 Flagler County, FL averages 4.01 m/s (9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,628 kWh a year, worth $1,015 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 99 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Flagler County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Flagler County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,393 kWh a year here against the turbine's 663, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 75¢/kWh, 4.9 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Flagler County is the 2,052nd 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 Flagler County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.48 m/s and about 781 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.13 m/s and 254 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Flagler County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.48 m/s | 781 kWh | $120 |
| February | 4.36 m/s | 655 kWh | $100 |
| March | 4.42 m/s | 755 kWh | $116 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 678 kWh | $104 |
| May | 3.97 m/s | 548 kWh | $84 |
| June | 3.38 m/s | 317 kWh | $49 |
| July | 3.13 m/s | 254 kWh | $39 |
| August | 3.26 m/s | 291 kWh | $45 |
| September | 3.91 m/s | 506 kWh | $78 |
| October | 4.19 m/s | 643 kWh | $99 |
| November | 4.38 m/s | 710 kWh | $109 |
| December | 4.34 m/s | 713 kWh | $109 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Flagler County averages 2.94 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.63 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.282, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,635 to 10,132 kWh a year, 119% 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 | 3.58 m/s | 4,635 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.01 m/s | 6,622 kWh | 99 years |
| 40 m | 4.35 m/s | 8,446 kWh | 77 years |
| 50 m | 4.63 m/s | 10,132 kWh | 64 years |
Counties around Flagler County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Seminole County, averages 4.65 m/s.
- Putnam County, FL: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- St. Johns County, FL: 4.52 m/s, 9,459 kWh, payback 69 years (30 mi)
- Volusia County, FL: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 76 years (30 mi)
- Marion County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (49 mi)
- Clay County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (50 mi)
- Seminole County, FL: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (55 mi)
Sun versus wind in Flagler County
Flagler County gets 4.77 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,393 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 663. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.1 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.