Wind Turbine Payback in Hidalgo County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo County, TX averages 6.05 m/s (13.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,075 kWh a year, worth $3,218 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hidalgo County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hidalgo County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.05 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,480 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,008, 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 6.05. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Hidalgo County is the 769th 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 Hidalgo County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.91 m/s and about 2,169 kWh. September is the weakest, 4.99 m/s and 1,023 kWh, so the best month makes 2.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Hidalgo County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.03 m/s | 1,689 kWh | $271 |
| February | 6.32 m/s | 1,695 kWh | $272 |
| March | 6.67 m/s | 2,091 kWh | $335 |
| April | 6.91 m/s | 2,169 kWh | $348 |
| May | 6.76 m/s | 2,147 kWh | $344 |
| June | 6.13 m/s | 1,701 kWh | $273 |
| July | 6.17 m/s | 1,780 kWh | $285 |
| August | 5.48 m/s | 1,352 kWh | $217 |
| September | 4.99 m/s | 1,023 kWh | $164 |
| October | 5.54 m/s | 1,385 kWh | $222 |
| November | 5.81 m/s | 1,503 kWh | $241 |
| December | 5.88 m/s | 1,599 kWh | $256 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hidalgo County averages 4.85 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.71 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.202, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,589 to 24,947 kWh a year, 50% 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 | 5.58 m/s | 16,589 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 6.05 m/s | 20,091 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.41 m/s | 22,774 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 6.71 m/s | 24,947 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around Hidalgo County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Willacy County, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Starr County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (36 mi)
- Willacy County, TX: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 28 years (37 mi)
- Brooks County, TX: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 32 years (44 mi)
- Cameron County, TX: 6.36 m/s, 22,373 kWh, payback 28 years (48 mi)
- Kenedy County, TX: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 28 years (50 mi)
- Jim Hogg County, TX: 6.03 m/s, 19,926 kWh, payback 31 years (57 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hidalgo County
Hidalgo County gets 5.07 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,480 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,008. 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.