Wind Turbine Payback in Hillsborough County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County, FL averages 4.66 m/s (10.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,320 kWh a year, worth $1,581 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 63 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hillsborough County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hillsborough County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.66 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,495 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,032, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 48¢/kWh, 3.2 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.66. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Hillsborough County is the 1,645th 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 Hillsborough County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.48 m/s and about 1,350 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.23 m/s and 284 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Hillsborough County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.48 m/s | 1,350 kWh | $207 |
| February | 5.24 m/s | 1,086 kWh | $166 |
| March | 5.39 m/s | 1,295 kWh | $198 |
| April | 4.97 m/s | 1,016 kWh | $156 |
| May | 4.43 m/s | 759 kWh | $116 |
| June | 3.67 m/s | 412 kWh | $63 |
| July | 3.23 m/s | 284 kWh | $44 |
| August | 3.49 m/s | 363 kWh | $56 |
| September | 4.33 m/s | 688 kWh | $105 |
| October | 5.08 m/s | 1,113 kWh | $171 |
| November | 5.33 m/s | 1,216 kWh | $186 |
| December | 5.34 m/s | 1,262 kWh | $193 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hillsborough County averages 3.74 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.16 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.200, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,154 to 13,629 kWh a year, 67% 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 | 4.3 m/s | 8,154 kWh | 80 years |
| 30 m | 4.66 m/s | 10,312 kWh | 63 years |
| 40 m | 4.93 m/s | 12,097 kWh | 54 years |
| 50 m | 5.16 m/s | 13,629 kWh | 48 years |
Counties around Hillsborough County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sarasota County, averages 4.8 m/s.
- Pinellas County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (26 mi)
- Manatee County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (29 mi)
- Pasco County, FL: 4.66 m/s, 10,320 kWh, payback 63 years (30 mi)
- Polk County, FL: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 73 years (42 mi)
- Hardee County, FL: 4.37 m/s, 8,575 kWh, payback 76 years (44 mi)
- Sarasota County, FL: 4.8 m/s, 11,212 kWh, payback 58 years (46 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County gets 5.12 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,495 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,032. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.