Wind Turbine Payback in Presidio County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Presidio 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 Presidio County, TX averages 4.72 m/s (10.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 10,698 kWh a year, worth $1,715 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 58 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Presidio County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Presidio County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 4.72 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,667 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,070, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 47¢/kWh, 2.9 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 4.72. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Presidio County is the 1,605th 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 Presidio County
April is the strongest month here, at 5.49 m/s and about 1,313 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.10 m/s and 600 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Presidio County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.69 m/s | 892 kWh | $143 |
| February | 5.11 m/s | 1,020 kWh | $164 |
| March | 5.27 m/s | 1,220 kWh | $196 |
| April | 5.49 m/s | 1,313 kWh | $210 |
| May | 5.00 m/s | 1,062 kWh | $170 |
| June | 4.56 m/s | 799 kWh | $128 |
| July | 4.36 m/s | 722 kWh | $116 |
| August | 4.10 m/s | 600 kWh | $96 |
| September | 4.37 m/s | 707 kWh | $113 |
| October | 4.50 m/s | 793 kWh | $127 |
| November | 4.60 m/s | 817 kWh | $131 |
| December | 4.58 m/s | 835 kWh | $134 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Presidio County averages 3.76 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.24 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.206, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,395 to 14,186 kWh a year, 69% 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 | 4.34 m/s | 8,395 kWh | 74 years |
| 30 m | 4.72 m/s | 10,677 kWh | 58 years |
| 40 m | 5 m/s | 12,565 kWh | 50 years |
| 50 m | 5.24 m/s | 14,186 kWh | 44 years |
Counties around Presidio County
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Pecos County, averages 6.32 m/s.
- Jeff Davis County, TX: 5.26 m/s, 14,327 kWh, payback 44 years (43 mi)
- Brewster County, TX: 5.11 m/s, 13,284 kWh, payback 47 years (62 mi)
- Reeves County, TX: 5.48 m/s, 15,893 kWh, payback 39 years (96 mi)
- Culberson County, TX: 5.63 m/s, 16,980 kWh, payback 37 years (101 mi)
- Pecos County, TX: 6.32 m/s, 22,077 kWh, payback 28 years (106 mi)
- Hudspeth County, TX: 5.39 m/s, 15,247 kWh, payback 41 years (120 mi)
Sun versus wind in Presidio County
Presidio County gets 5.71 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,667 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,070. 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.