Wind Turbine Payback in Sherman County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Sherman 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 Sherman County, TX averages 6.66 m/s (14.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 24,582 kWh a year, worth $3,940 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 25 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sherman County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sherman County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.66 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,507 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,458, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 20¢/kWh, 1.3 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.66. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Sherman County is the 84th 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 Sherman County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.44 m/s and about 2,476 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.88 m/s and 1,600 kWh, so the best month makes 1.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 42% of the year's output in Sherman County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.45 m/s | 1,955 kWh | $313 |
| February | 6.70 m/s | 1,907 kWh | $306 |
| March | 6.97 m/s | 2,281 kWh | $366 |
| April | 7.44 m/s | 2,476 kWh | $397 |
| May | 6.78 m/s | 2,161 kWh | $346 |
| June | 6.89 m/s | 2,160 kWh | $346 |
| July | 6.12 m/s | 1,752 kWh | $281 |
| August | 5.88 m/s | 1,600 kWh | $256 |
| September | 6.62 m/s | 1,994 kWh | $320 |
| October | 6.65 m/s | 2,083 kWh | $334 |
| November | 6.89 m/s | 2,155 kWh | $345 |
| December | 6.54 m/s | 2,011 kWh | $322 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sherman County averages 5.24 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.45 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.219, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,412 to 30,195 kWh a year, 48% 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 | 6.1 m/s | 20,412 kWh | 31 years |
| 30 m | 6.66 m/s | 24,593 kWh | 25 years |
| 40 m | 7.09 m/s | 27,717 kWh | 23 years |
| 50 m | 7.45 m/s | 30,195 kWh | 21 years |
Counties around Sherman County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Dallam County, averages 6.82 m/s.
- Hansford County, TX: 6.63 m/s, 24,362 kWh, payback 26 years (30 mi)
- Moore County, TX: 6.58 m/s, 23,996 kWh, payback 26 years (31 mi)
- Dallam County, TX: 6.82 m/s, 25,747 kWh, payback 24 years (39 mi)
- Texas County, OK: 6.63 m/s, 24,362 kWh, payback 30 years (40 mi)
- Hutchinson County, TX: 6.68 m/s, 24,728 kWh, payback 25 years (43 mi)
- Cimarron County, OK: 6.82 m/s, 25,747 kWh, payback 28 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sherman County
Sherman 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 2,458. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.6 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.