Wind Turbine Payback in Jackson County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Jackson 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 Jackson County, TX averages 5.42 m/s (12.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 15,462 kWh a year, worth $2,479 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 40 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Jackson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jackson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.42 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,419 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,546, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 32¢/kWh, 2.0 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 5.42. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Jackson County is the 1,264th 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 Jackson County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.18 m/s and about 1,730 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.38 m/s and 735 kWh, so the best month makes 2.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 49% of the year's output in Jackson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.82 m/s | 1,559 kWh | $250 |
| February | 5.97 m/s | 1,494 kWh | $239 |
| March | 6.04 m/s | 1,698 kWh | $272 |
| April | 6.18 m/s | 1,730 kWh | $277 |
| May | 5.85 m/s | 1,581 kWh | $253 |
| June | 5.02 m/s | 1,042 kWh | $167 |
| July | 4.68 m/s | 885 kWh | $142 |
| August | 4.38 m/s | 735 kWh | $118 |
| September | 4.60 m/s | 820 kWh | $131 |
| October | 5.22 m/s | 1,190 kWh | $191 |
| November | 5.54 m/s | 1,344 kWh | $215 |
| December | 5.73 m/s | 1,504 kWh | $241 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jackson County averages 4.17 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.12 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.238, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 12,005 to 20,594 kWh a year, 72% 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 | 4.92 m/s | 12,005 kWh | 52 years |
| 30 m | 5.42 m/s | 15,458 kWh | 40 years |
| 40 m | 5.8 m/s | 18,252 kWh | 34 years |
| 50 m | 6.12 m/s | 20,594 kWh | 30 years |
Counties around Jackson County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Calhoun County, averages 5.79 m/s.
- Victoria County, TX: 5.42 m/s, 15,462 kWh, payback 40 years (26 mi)
- Wharton County, TX: 5.24 m/s, 14,186 kWh, payback 44 years (31 mi)
- Lavaca County, TX: 5.36 m/s, 15,034 kWh, payback 42 years (36 mi)
- Calhoun County, TX: 5.79 m/s, 18,153 kWh, payback 34 years (36 mi)
- Matagorda County, TX: 5.4 m/s, 15,319 kWh, payback 41 years (38 mi)
- Colorado County, TX: 5.24 m/s, 14,186 kWh, payback 44 years (44 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jackson County
Jackson County gets 4.86 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,419 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,546. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.1 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.