Wind Turbine Payback in Howard County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Howard 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 Howard County, TX averages 6.24 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,484 kWh a year, worth $3,444 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Howard County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Howard County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.24 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,580 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,148, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/kWh, 1.5 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.24. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Howard County is the 541st 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 Howard County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.15 m/s and about 2,311 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.42 m/s and 1,313 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Howard County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.22 m/s | 1,814 kWh | $291 |
| February | 6.46 m/s | 1,775 kWh | $285 |
| March | 6.79 m/s | 2,165 kWh | $347 |
| April | 7.15 m/s | 2,311 kWh | $370 |
| May | 6.64 m/s | 2,077 kWh | $333 |
| June | 6.44 m/s | 1,886 kWh | $302 |
| July | 5.65 m/s | 1,455 kWh | $233 |
| August | 5.42 m/s | 1,313 kWh | $210 |
| September | 5.51 m/s | 1,323 kWh | $212 |
| October | 6.13 m/s | 1,758 kWh | $282 |
| November | 6.29 m/s | 1,793 kWh | $287 |
| December | 6.22 m/s | 1,814 kWh | $291 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Howard County averages 4.89 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.99 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.222, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,517 to 26,971 kWh a year, 54% 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 | 5.7 m/s | 17,517 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.24 m/s | 21,489 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.65 m/s | 24,525 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 6.99 m/s | 26,971 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Howard County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Glasscock County, averages 6.38 m/s.
- Mitchell County, TX: 6.33 m/s, 22,151 kWh, payback 28 years (30 mi)
- Borden County, TX: 6.24 m/s, 21,484 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Glasscock County, TX: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 28 years (30 mi)
- Martin County, TX: 6.22 m/s, 21,336 kWh, payback 29 years (31 mi)
- Sterling County, TX: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 28 years (39 mi)
- Dawson County, TX: 6.22 m/s, 21,336 kWh, payback 29 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Howard County
Howard County gets 5.41 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,580 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,148. 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.