Wind Turbine Payback in Glades County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Glades 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 Glades County, FL averages 4.38 m/s (9.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,632 kWh a year, worth $1,322 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 76 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Glades County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Glades County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.38 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,469 kWh a year here against the turbine's 863, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 58¢/kWh, 3.8 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.38. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Glades County is the 1,837th 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 Glades County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.12 m/s and about 1,137 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.06 m/s and 235 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Glades County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.06 m/s | 1,101 kWh | $169 |
| February | 4.91 m/s | 913 kWh | $140 |
| March | 5.12 m/s | 1,137 kWh | $174 |
| April | 4.85 m/s | 950 kWh | $146 |
| May | 4.33 m/s | 709 kWh | $109 |
| June | 3.43 m/s | 334 kWh | $51 |
| July | 3.06 m/s | 235 kWh | $36 |
| August | 3.26 m/s | 291 kWh | $45 |
| September | 3.93 m/s | 511 kWh | $78 |
| October | 4.75 m/s | 924 kWh | $142 |
| November | 5.01 m/s | 1,036 kWh | $159 |
| December | 4.96 m/s | 1,041 kWh | $159 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Glades County averages 3.27 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.02 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.266, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,251 to 12,670 kWh a year, 103% 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 | 3.93 m/s | 6,251 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,645 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.73 m/s | 10,766 kWh | 61 years |
| 50 m | 5.02 m/s | 12,670 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Glades County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Martin County, averages 4.82 m/s.
- Highlands County, FL: 4.47 m/s, 9,160 kWh, payback 71 years (28 mi)
- Hendry County, FL: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 80 years (29 mi)
- Okeechobee County, FL: 4.78 m/s, 11,082 kWh, payback 59 years (35 mi)
- DeSoto County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (41 mi)
- Martin County, FL: 4.82 m/s, 11,341 kWh, payback 58 years (50 mi)
- Charlotte County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Glades County
Glades County gets 5.03 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,469 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 863. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.