Wind Turbine Payback in Jim Wells County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Jim Wells 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 Wells County, TX averages 5.85 m/s (13.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 18,595 kWh a year, worth $2,981 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 34 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Jim Wells County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jim Wells County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.85 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,454 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,860, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 27¢/kWh, 1.7 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 5.85. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Jim Wells County is the 1,036th 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 Wells County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.66 m/s and about 2,019 kWh. September is the weakest, 4.96 m/s and 1,010 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Jim Wells County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.84 m/s | 1,574 kWh | $252 |
| February | 6.06 m/s | 1,544 kWh | $248 |
| March | 6.38 m/s | 1,912 kWh | $306 |
| April | 6.66 m/s | 2,019 kWh | $324 |
| May | 6.51 m/s | 1,997 kWh | $320 |
| June | 5.91 m/s | 1,567 kWh | $251 |
| July | 5.81 m/s | 1,552 kWh | $249 |
| August | 5.26 m/s | 1,216 kWh | $195 |
| September | 4.96 m/s | 1,010 kWh | $162 |
| October | 5.47 m/s | 1,341 kWh | $215 |
| November | 5.67 m/s | 1,421 kWh | $228 |
| December | 5.69 m/s | 1,479 kWh | $237 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jim Wells County averages 4.62 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.53 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.215, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,050 to 23,628 kWh a year, 57% 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 | 5.36 m/s | 15,050 kWh | 41 years |
| 30 m | 5.85 m/s | 18,601 kWh | 34 years |
| 40 m | 6.22 m/s | 21,366 kWh | 29 years |
| 50 m | 6.53 m/s | 23,628 kWh | 26 years |
Counties around Jim Wells County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Kleberg County, averages 6.18 m/s.
- Duval County, TX: 5.98 m/s, 19,556 kWh, payback 32 years (25 mi)
- Kleberg County, TX: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 30 years (33 mi)
- Nueces County, TX: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 30 years (35 mi)
- San Patricio County, TX: 5.89 m/s, 18,890 kWh, payback 33 years (40 mi)
- Live Oak County, TX: 5.6 m/s, 16,762 kWh, payback 37 years (43 mi)
- Brooks County, TX: 5.96 m/s, 19,408 kWh, payback 32 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jim Wells County
Jim Wells 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 1,860. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.3 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.