Wind Turbine Payback in Sabine County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Sabine 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 Sabine County, TX averages 3.27 m/s (7.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,471 kWh a year, worth $556 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sabine County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sabine County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.27 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,329 kWh a year here against the turbine's 347, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 144¢/kWh, 9.0 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.27. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Sabine County is the 2,787th 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 Sabine County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.76 m/s and about 448 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.66 m/s and 145 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Sabine County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.47 m/s | 359 kWh | $58 |
| February | 3.57 m/s | 354 kWh | $57 |
| March | 3.67 m/s | 426 kWh | $68 |
| April | 3.76 m/s | 448 kWh | $72 |
| May | 3.39 m/s | 330 kWh | $53 |
| June | 2.92 m/s | 195 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.66 m/s | 145 kWh | $23 |
| August | 2.71 m/s | 155 kWh | $25 |
| September | 2.97 m/s | 206 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.25 m/s | 289 kWh | $46 |
| November | 3.45 m/s | 340 kWh | $55 |
| December | 3.46 m/s | 354 kWh | $57 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sabine County averages 2.04 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.08 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.431, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,917 to 6,986 kWh a year, 264% 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 | 2.75 m/s | 1,917 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.27 m/s | 3,484 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.71 m/s | 5,190 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.08 m/s | 6,986 kWh | 89 years |
Counties around Sabine County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Shelby County, averages 3.47 m/s.
- San Augustine County, TX: 3.2 m/s, 3,232 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Sabine Parish, LA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Shelby County, TX: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
- Newton County, TX: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (39 mi)
- Jasper County, TX: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
- Vernon Parish, LA: 3.17 m/s, 3,132 kWh, payback over 100 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sabine County
Sabine County gets 4.55 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,329 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 347. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.8 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.