Wind Turbine Payback in Lee County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Lee 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 Lee County, FL averages 4.44 m/s (9.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,982 kWh a year, worth $1,376 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 73 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.44 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,469 kWh a year here against the turbine's 898, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 56¢/kWh, 3.6 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.44. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Lee County is the 1,788th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Lee County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.23 m/s and about 1,196 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.05 m/s and 234 kWh, so the best month makes 5.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Lee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.23 m/s | 1,196 kWh | $183 |
| February | 5.02 m/s | 971 kWh | $149 |
| March | 5.15 m/s | 1,153 kWh | $177 |
| April | 4.78 m/s | 912 kWh | $140 |
| May | 4.17 m/s | 633 kWh | $97 |
| June | 3.39 m/s | 322 kWh | $49 |
| July | 3.05 m/s | 234 kWh | $36 |
| August | 3.28 m/s | 297 kWh | $46 |
| September | 3.97 m/s | 529 kWh | $81 |
| October | 4.95 m/s | 1,033 kWh | $158 |
| November | 5.19 m/s | 1,137 kWh | $174 |
| December | 5.13 m/s | 1,143 kWh | $175 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lee County averages 3.56 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.92 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.201, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 7,051 to 11,999 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.09 m/s | 7,051 kWh | 93 years |
| 30 m | 4.44 m/s | 8,982 kWh | 73 years |
| 40 m | 4.7 m/s | 10,598 kWh | 62 years |
| 50 m | 4.92 m/s | 11,999 kWh | 54 years |
Counties around Lee County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sarasota County, averages 4.8 m/s.
- Charlotte County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (24 mi)
- DeSoto County, FL: 4.34 m/s, 8,403 kWh, payback 78 years (45 mi)
- Collier County, FL: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 69 years (47 mi)
- Hendry County, FL: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 80 years (51 mi)
- Sarasota County, FL: 4.8 m/s, 11,212 kWh, payback 58 years (53 mi)
- Glades County, FL: 4.38 m/s, 8,632 kWh, payback 76 years (56 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lee County
Lee County gets 5.03 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,469 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 898. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.6 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.