Wind Turbine Payback in Schleicher County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Schleicher 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 Schleicher County, TX averages 6.39 m/s (14.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,595 kWh a year, worth $3,622 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 28 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Schleicher County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Schleicher County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.39 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,507 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,260, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 22¢/kWh, 1.4 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.39. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Schleicher County is the 347th 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 Schleicher County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.24 m/s and about 2,364 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.56 m/s and 1,353 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Schleicher County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.38 m/s | 1,914 kWh | $307 |
| February | 6.69 m/s | 1,901 kWh | $305 |
| March | 6.94 m/s | 2,259 kWh | $362 |
| April | 7.24 m/s | 2,364 kWh | $379 |
| May | 6.82 m/s | 2,188 kWh | $351 |
| June | 6.47 m/s | 1,907 kWh | $306 |
| July | 5.86 m/s | 1,587 kWh | $254 |
| August | 5.58 m/s | 1,414 kWh | $227 |
| September | 5.56 m/s | 1,353 kWh | $217 |
| October | 6.31 m/s | 1,869 kWh | $300 |
| November | 6.47 m/s | 1,907 kWh | $306 |
| December | 6.37 m/s | 1,909 kWh | $306 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Schleicher County averages 5.05 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.13 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.214, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,672 to 27,967 kWh a year, 50% 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 | 5.86 m/s | 18,672 kWh | 33 years |
| 30 m | 6.39 m/s | 22,607 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.8 m/s | 25,584 kWh | 24 years |
| 50 m | 7.13 m/s | 27,967 kWh | 22 years |
Counties around Schleicher County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Irion County, averages 6.51 m/s.
- Sutton County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (26 mi)
- Tom Green County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (35 mi)
- Irion County, TX: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 27 years (39 mi)
- Menard County, TX: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 29 years (40 mi)
- Concho County, TX: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 31 years (49 mi)
- Crockett County, TX: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 29 years (53 mi)
Sun versus wind in Schleicher County
Schleicher County gets 5.16 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,507 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,260. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.5 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.