Wind Turbine Payback in San Jacinto County, TX
Wind turbine payback in San Jacinto 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 San Jacinto County, TX averages 3.21 m/s (7.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,265 kWh a year, worth $523 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 San Jacinto County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in San Jacinto County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.21 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,358 kWh a year here against the turbine's 327, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 153¢/kWh, 9.6 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.21. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
San Jacinto County is the 2,874th 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 San Jacinto County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.71 m/s and about 429 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.61 m/s and 134 kWh, so the best month makes 3.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in San Jacinto County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.40 m/s | 336 kWh | $54 |
| February | 3.50 m/s | 332 kWh | $53 |
| March | 3.59 m/s | 400 kWh | $64 |
| April | 3.71 m/s | 429 kWh | $69 |
| May | 3.41 m/s | 339 kWh | $54 |
| June | 2.91 m/s | 194 kWh | $31 |
| July | 2.64 m/s | 140 kWh | $22 |
| August | 2.61 m/s | 134 kWh | $21 |
| September | 2.81 m/s | 171 kWh | $27 |
| October | 3.18 m/s | 270 kWh | $43 |
| November | 3.36 m/s | 313 kWh | $50 |
| December | 3.42 m/s | 341 kWh | $55 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in San Jacinto County averages 1.93 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.06 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.462, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,699 to 6,883 kWh a year, 305% 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 | 2.66 m/s | 1,699 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.21 m/s | 3,253 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.66 m/s | 5,000 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.06 m/s | 6,883 kWh | 91 years |
Counties around San Jacinto County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Liberty County, averages 4.35 m/s.
- Polk County, TX: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Walker County, TX: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Montgomery County, TX: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Liberty County, TX: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 74 years (34 mi)
- Trinity County, TX: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Tyler County, TX: 3.18 m/s, 3,165 kWh, payback over 100 years (49 mi)
Sun versus wind in San Jacinto County
San Jacinto County gets 4.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,358 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 327. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.2 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.