Wind Turbine Payback in Houston County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Houston 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 Houston County, TX averages 4.53 m/s (10.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 9,519 kWh a year, worth $1,526 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 66 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Houston County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Houston County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 4.53 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,358 kWh a year here against the turbine's 952, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 53¢/kWh, 3.3 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 4.53. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Houston County is the 1,731st 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 Houston County
March is the strongest month here, at 5.16 m/s and about 1,156 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.67 m/s and 429 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 52% of the year's output in Houston County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.93 m/s | 1,022 kWh | $164 |
| February | 5.10 m/s | 1,012 kWh | $162 |
| March | 5.16 m/s | 1,156 kWh | $185 |
| April | 5.19 m/s | 1,138 kWh | $182 |
| May | 4.69 m/s | 890 kWh | $143 |
| June | 4.04 m/s | 559 kWh | $90 |
| July | 3.73 m/s | 448 kWh | $72 |
| August | 3.67 m/s | 429 kWh | $69 |
| September | 3.81 m/s | 466 kWh | $75 |
| October | 4.45 m/s | 766 kWh | $123 |
| November | 4.82 m/s | 934 kWh | $150 |
| December | 4.87 m/s | 989 kWh | $159 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Houston County averages 3.25 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.29 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.303, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,615 to 14,538 kWh a year, 120% 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 | 4.01 m/s | 6,615 kWh | 94 years |
| 30 m | 4.53 m/s | 9,528 kWh | 66 years |
| 40 m | 4.94 m/s | 12,160 kWh | 51 years |
| 50 m | 5.29 m/s | 14,538 kWh | 43 years |
Counties around Houston County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Leon County, averages 5.43 m/s.
- Trinity County, TX: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Leon County, TX: 5.43 m/s, 15,534 kWh, payback 40 years (34 mi)
- Anderson County, TX: 4.92 m/s, 11,999 kWh, payback 52 years (38 mi)
- Madison County, TX: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 74 years (39 mi)
- Cherokee County, TX: 4.17 m/s, 7,461 kWh, payback 84 years (39 mi)
- Walker County, TX: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Houston County
Houston County gets 4.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,358 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 952. 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.