Wind Turbine Payback in McCulloch County, TX
Wind turbine payback in McCulloch 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 McCulloch County, TX averages 5.98 m/s (13.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 19,556 kWh a year, worth $3,135 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 32 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in McCulloch County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in McCulloch County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 5.98 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,486 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,956, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 26¢/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 5.98. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
McCulloch County is the 873rd 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 McCulloch County
April is the strongest month here, at 6.82 m/s and about 2,117 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.04 m/s and 1,053 kWh, so the best month makes 2.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in McCulloch County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.14 m/s | 1,765 kWh | $283 |
| February | 6.37 m/s | 1,720 kWh | $276 |
| March | 6.58 m/s | 2,039 kWh | $327 |
| April | 6.82 m/s | 2,117 kWh | $339 |
| May | 6.30 m/s | 1,860 kWh | $298 |
| June | 5.88 m/s | 1,545 kWh | $248 |
| July | 5.38 m/s | 1,288 kWh | $206 |
| August | 5.08 m/s | 1,114 kWh | $179 |
| September | 5.04 m/s | 1,053 kWh | $169 |
| October | 5.84 m/s | 1,574 kWh | $252 |
| November | 6.15 m/s | 1,713 kWh | $275 |
| December | 6.14 m/s | 1,765 kWh | $283 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in McCulloch County averages 4.66 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.71 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 15,676 to 24,947 kWh a year, 59% 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 | 5.45 m/s | 15,676 kWh | 40 years |
| 30 m | 5.98 m/s | 19,521 kWh | 32 years |
| 40 m | 6.38 m/s | 22,511 kWh | 28 years |
| 50 m | 6.71 m/s | 24,947 kWh | 25 years |
Counties around McCulloch County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Menard County, averages 6.21 m/s.
- Concho County, TX: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 31 years (31 mi)
- San Saba County, TX: 5.82 m/s, 18,374 kWh, payback 34 years (32 mi)
- Mason County, TX: 6.08 m/s, 20,297 kWh, payback 31 years (35 mi)
- Menard County, TX: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 29 years (37 mi)
- Brown County, TX: 6.05 m/s, 20,075 kWh, payback 31 years (44 mi)
- Coleman County, TX: 6.11 m/s, 20,520 kWh, payback 30 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in McCulloch County
McCulloch County gets 5.09 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,486 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,956. 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.