Wind Turbine Payback in Kimble County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Kimble 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 Kimble County, TX averages 6.2 m/s (13.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,187 kWh a year, worth $3,396 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 Kimble County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Kimble County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.2 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,472 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,119, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/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 6.2. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Kimble County is the 588th 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 Kimble County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.02 m/s and about 2,233 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.30 m/s and 1,200 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Kimble County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.27 m/s | 1,846 kWh | $296 |
| February | 6.55 m/s | 1,825 kWh | $293 |
| March | 6.78 m/s | 2,165 kWh | $347 |
| April | 7.02 m/s | 2,233 kWh | $358 |
| May | 6.61 m/s | 2,054 kWh | $329 |
| June | 6.18 m/s | 1,732 kWh | $278 |
| July | 5.67 m/s | 1,464 kWh | $235 |
| August | 5.35 m/s | 1,272 kWh | $204 |
| September | 5.30 m/s | 1,200 kWh | $192 |
| October | 6.10 m/s | 1,739 kWh | $279 |
| November | 6.35 m/s | 1,830 kWh | $293 |
| December | 6.29 m/s | 1,858 kWh | $298 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Kimble County averages 4.89 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.93 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.217, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,348 to 26,541 kWh a year, 53% 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 | 5.68 m/s | 17,348 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.2 m/s | 21,209 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.6 m/s | 24,160 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.93 m/s | 26,541 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Kimble County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sutton County, averages 6.28 m/s.
- Menard County, TX: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 29 years (29 mi)
- Mason County, TX: 6.08 m/s, 20,297 kWh, payback 31 years (34 mi)
- Kerr County, TX: 5.9 m/s, 18,964 kWh, payback 33 years (37 mi)
- Real County, TX: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 31 years (45 mi)
- Sutton County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (46 mi)
- Edwards County, TX: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 31 years (48 mi)
Sun versus wind in Kimble County
Kimble County gets 5.04 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,472 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,119. 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.