Wind Turbine Payback in Lynn County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Lynn 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 Lynn County, TX averages 6.23 m/s (13.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,410 kWh a year, worth $3,432 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 Lynn County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lynn County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.23 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,562 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,141, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/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 6.23. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Lynn County is the 550th 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 Lynn County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.18 m/s and about 2,328 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.34 m/s and 1,263 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Lynn County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.32 m/s | 1,873 kWh | $300 |
| February | 6.51 m/s | 1,803 kWh | $289 |
| March | 6.78 m/s | 2,162 kWh | $347 |
| April | 7.18 m/s | 2,328 kWh | $373 |
| May | 6.58 m/s | 2,035 kWh | $326 |
| June | 6.33 m/s | 1,818 kWh | $291 |
| July | 5.54 m/s | 1,388 kWh | $222 |
| August | 5.34 m/s | 1,263 kWh | $202 |
| September | 5.44 m/s | 1,285 kWh | $206 |
| October | 6.11 m/s | 1,744 kWh | $280 |
| November | 6.33 m/s | 1,818 kWh | $291 |
| December | 6.36 m/s | 1,901 kWh | $305 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lynn County averages 4.86 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.99 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.226, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,364 to 26,971 kWh a year, 55% 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 | 17,364 kWh | 36 years |
| 30 m | 6.23 m/s | 21,394 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.65 m/s | 24,481 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.99 m/s | 26,971 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Lynn County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lubbock County, averages 6.3 m/s.
- Garza County, TX: 6.18 m/s, 21,039 kWh, payback 30 years (30 mi)
- Lubbock County, TX: 6.3 m/s, 21,929 kWh, payback 28 years (30 mi)
- Terry County, TX: 6.14 m/s, 20,742 kWh, payback 30 years (30 mi)
- Dawson County, TX: 6.22 m/s, 21,336 kWh, payback 29 years (31 mi)
- Borden County, TX: 6.24 m/s, 21,484 kWh, payback 29 years (38 mi)
- Crosby County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lynn County
Lynn County gets 5.35 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,562 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,141. 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.