Wind Turbine Payback in Jeff Davis County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Jeff Davis 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 Jeff Davis County, TX averages 5.26 m/s (11.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,327 kWh a year, worth $2,297 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 44 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Jeff Davis County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jeff Davis County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.26 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,667 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,433, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 35¢/kWh, 2.2 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 5.26. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Jeff Davis County is the 1,339th 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 Jeff Davis County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.10 m/s and about 1,680 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.43 m/s and 756 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Jeff Davis County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.36 m/s | 1,278 kWh | $205 |
| February | 5.78 m/s | 1,390 kWh | $223 |
| March | 5.86 m/s | 1,584 kWh | $254 |
| April | 6.10 m/s | 1,680 kWh | $269 |
| May | 5.49 m/s | 1,355 kWh | $217 |
| June | 5.05 m/s | 1,056 kWh | $169 |
| July | 4.68 m/s | 886 kWh | $142 |
| August | 4.43 m/s | 756 kWh | $121 |
| September | 4.76 m/s | 900 kWh | $144 |
| October | 5.07 m/s | 1,102 kWh | $177 |
| November | 5.29 m/s | 1,195 kWh | $192 |
| December | 5.34 m/s | 1,267 kWh | $203 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jeff Davis County averages 4.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.85 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.207, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,467 to 18,595 kWh a year, 62% 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 | 4.84 m/s | 11,467 kWh | 54 years |
| 30 m | 5.26 m/s | 14,348 kWh | 44 years |
| 40 m | 5.59 m/s | 16,659 kWh | 37 years |
| 50 m | 5.85 m/s | 18,595 kWh | 34 years |
Counties around Jeff Davis County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pecos County, averages 6.32 m/s.
- Presidio County, TX: 4.72 m/s, 10,698 kWh, payback 58 years (43 mi)
- Reeves County, TX: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 39 years (55 mi)
- Culberson County, TX: 5.63 m/s, 16,980 kWh, payback 37 years (60 mi)
- Brewster County, TX: 5.11 m/s, 13,284 kWh, payback 47 years (80 mi)
- Pecos County, TX: 6.32 m/s, 22,077 kWh, payback 28 years (88 mi)
- Ward County, TX: 5.53 m/s, 16,254 kWh, payback 38 years (89 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jeff Davis County
Jeff Davis County gets 5.71 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,667 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,433. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.