Wind Turbine Payback in Galveston County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Galveston 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 Galveston County, TX averages 6.01 m/s (13.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,778 kWh a year, worth $3,170 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 32 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Galveston County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Galveston County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.01 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,381 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,978, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.6 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.01. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Galveston County is the 826th 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 Galveston County
December is the strongest month here, at 6.83 m/s and about 2,191 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.55 m/s and 816 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Galveston County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.78 m/s | 2,163 kWh | $347 |
| February | 6.85 m/s | 1,990 kWh | $319 |
| March | 6.64 m/s | 2,076 kWh | $333 |
| April | 6.72 m/s | 2,059 kWh | $330 |
| May | 6.20 m/s | 1,800 kWh | $289 |
| June | 5.27 m/s | 1,181 kWh | $189 |
| July | 4.75 m/s | 926 kWh | $148 |
| August | 4.55 m/s | 816 kWh | $131 |
| September | 5.32 m/s | 1,213 kWh | $194 |
| October | 5.93 m/s | 1,629 kWh | $261 |
| November | 6.35 m/s | 1,833 kWh | $294 |
| December | 6.83 m/s | 2,191 kWh | $351 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Galveston County averages 5.21 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.43 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.131, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,512 to 22,891 kWh a year, 31% 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 | 5.7 m/s | 17,512 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.01 m/s | 19,806 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 6.24 m/s | 21,519 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 6.43 m/s | 22,891 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Galveston County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Galveston County.
- Brazoria County, TX: 5.56 m/s, 16,471 kWh, payback 38 years (33 mi)
- Chambers County, TX: 5.76 m/s, 17,932 kWh, payback 35 years (35 mi)
- Harris County, TX: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 66 years (53 mi)
- Fort Bend County, TX: 5.16 m/s, 13,629 kWh, payback 46 years (57 mi)
- Jefferson County, TX: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 75 years (62 mi)
- Liberty County, TX: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 74 years (64 mi)
Sun versus wind in Galveston County
Galveston County gets 4.73 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,381 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,978. 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.