Wind Turbine Payback in Jim Hogg County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Jim Hogg 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 Jim Hogg County, TX averages 6.03 m/s (13.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,926 kWh a year, worth $3,194 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Jim Hogg County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jim Hogg County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.03 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,454 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,993, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/kWh, 1.6 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.03. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Jim Hogg County is the 791st 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 Jim Hogg County
May is the strongest month here, at 6.78 m/s and about 2,164 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.11 m/s and 1,094 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 39% of the year's output in Jim Hogg County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.70 m/s | 1,486 kWh | $238 |
| February | 5.96 m/s | 1,490 kWh | $239 |
| March | 6.47 m/s | 1,967 kWh | $315 |
| April | 6.78 m/s | 2,094 kWh | $336 |
| May | 6.78 m/s | 2,164 kWh | $347 |
| June | 6.41 m/s | 1,871 kWh | $300 |
| July | 6.47 m/s | 1,967 kWh | $315 |
| August | 5.84 m/s | 1,570 kWh | $252 |
| September | 5.11 m/s | 1,094 kWh | $175 |
| October | 5.60 m/s | 1,424 kWh | $228 |
| November | 5.68 m/s | 1,427 kWh | $229 |
| December | 5.57 m/s | 1,402 kWh | $225 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jim Hogg County averages 4.83 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.69 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.202, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,468 to 24,801 kWh a year, 51% 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 | 5.56 m/s | 16,468 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 6.03 m/s | 19,957 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.4 m/s | 22,633 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 6.69 m/s | 24,801 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around Jim Hogg County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Starr County, averages 6.05 m/s.
- Zapata County, TX: 5.93 m/s, 19,186 kWh, payback 33 years (27 mi)
- Brooks County, TX: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 32 years (33 mi)
- Starr County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (36 mi)
- Duval County, TX: 5.98 m/s, 19,556 kWh, payback 32 years (46 mi)
- Hidalgo County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (57 mi)
- Webb County, TX: 5.68 m/s, 17,345 kWh, payback 36 years (61 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jim Hogg County
Jim Hogg County gets 4.98 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,454 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,993. 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.