Wind Turbine Payback in Hardee County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Hardee 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 Hardee County, FL averages 4.37 m/s (9.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,575 kWh a year, worth $1,314 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 Hardee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hardee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.37 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,463 kWh a year here against the turbine's 858, 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 4.37. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Hardee County is the 1,849th 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 Hardee County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.10 m/s and about 1,120 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.01 m/s and 223 kWh, so the best month makes 5.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Hardee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.10 m/s | 1,120 kWh | $172 |
| February | 4.89 m/s | 908 kWh | $139 |
| March | 5.10 m/s | 1,120 kWh | $172 |
| April | 4.76 m/s | 898 kWh | $138 |
| May | 4.25 m/s | 670 kWh | $103 |
| June | 3.41 m/s | 328 kWh | $50 |
| July | 3.01 m/s | 223 kWh | $34 |
| August | 3.24 m/s | 285 kWh | $44 |
| September | 3.97 m/s | 528 kWh | $81 |
| October | 4.76 m/s | 928 kWh | $142 |
| November | 5.01 m/s | 1,035 kWh | $159 |
| December | 4.96 m/s | 1,044 kWh | $160 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hardee County averages 3.26 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.01 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.267, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,195 to 12,602 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 | 3.92 m/s | 6,195 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.37 m/s | 8,582 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.72 m/s | 10,700 kWh | 61 years |
| 50 m | 5.01 m/s | 12,602 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Hardee County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sarasota County, averages 4.8 m/s.
- DeSoto County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (21 mi)
- Highlands County, FL: 4.47 m/s, 9,160 kWh, payback 71 years (31 mi)
- Polk County, FL: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 73 years (33 mi)
- Manatee County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (35 mi)
- Sarasota County, FL: 4.8 m/s, 11,212 kWh, payback 58 years (41 mi)
- Charlotte County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hardee County
Hardee County gets 5.01 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,463 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 858. 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.