Wind Turbine Payback in Hendry County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Hendry 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 Hendry County, FL averages 4.29 m/s (9.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,120 kWh a year, worth $1,244 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 80 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hendry County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hendry County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.29 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,469 kWh a year here against the turbine's 812, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 62¢/kWh, 4.0 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.29. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Hendry County is the 1,900th 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 Hendry County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.02 m/s and about 1,075 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.01 m/s and 224 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Hendry County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.96 m/s | 1,040 kWh | $159 |
| February | 4.82 m/s | 869 kWh | $133 |
| March | 5.02 m/s | 1,075 kWh | $165 |
| April | 4.77 m/s | 903 kWh | $138 |
| May | 4.22 m/s | 655 kWh | $100 |
| June | 3.33 m/s | 302 kWh | $46 |
| July | 3.01 m/s | 224 kWh | $34 |
| August | 3.16 m/s | 264 kWh | $40 |
| September | 3.79 m/s | 458 kWh | $70 |
| October | 4.69 m/s | 891 kWh | $137 |
| November | 4.93 m/s | 992 kWh | $152 |
| December | 4.91 m/s | 1,015 kWh | $155 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hendry County averages 3.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.93 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.270, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,845 to 12,065 kWh a year, 106% 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 | 3.85 m/s | 5,845 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.29 m/s | 8,147 kWh | 80 years |
| 40 m | 4.64 m/s | 10,206 kWh | 64 years |
| 50 m | 4.93 m/s | 12,065 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Hendry County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Broward County, averages 4.98 m/s.
- Glades County, FL: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 76 years (29 mi)
- Collier County, FL: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 69 years (33 mi)
- Palm Beach County, FL: 4.67 m/s, 10,382 kWh, payback 63 years (44 mi)
- Broward County, FL: 4.98 m/s, 12,400 kWh, payback 53 years (48 mi)
- Lee County, FL: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 73 years (51 mi)
- Highlands County, FL: 4.47 m/s, 9,160 kWh, payback 71 years (57 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hendry County
Hendry 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 812. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.