Wind Turbine Payback in Sutton County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Sutton 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 Sutton County, TX averages 6.28 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,781 kWh a year, worth $3,491 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sutton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sutton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.28 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,507 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,178, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 23¢/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 6.28. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Sutton County is the 498th 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 Sutton County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.09 m/s and about 2,278 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.52 m/s and 1,333 kWh, so the best month makes 1.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 43% of the year's output in Sutton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.18 m/s | 1,787 kWh | $286 |
| February | 6.54 m/s | 1,817 kWh | $291 |
| March | 6.80 m/s | 2,174 kWh | $348 |
| April | 7.09 m/s | 2,278 kWh | $365 |
| May | 6.74 m/s | 2,140 kWh | $343 |
| June | 6.41 m/s | 1,871 kWh | $300 |
| July | 5.86 m/s | 1,584 kWh | $254 |
| August | 5.56 m/s | 1,399 kWh | $224 |
| September | 5.52 m/s | 1,333 kWh | $214 |
| October | 6.22 m/s | 1,815 kWh | $291 |
| November | 6.32 m/s | 1,816 kWh | $291 |
| December | 6.17 m/s | 1,781 kWh | $285 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sutton County averages 4.97 m/s; at 50 m it is 7 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.213, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 17,924 to 27,043 kWh a year, 51% 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 | 5.76 m/s | 17,924 kWh | 35 years |
| 30 m | 6.28 m/s | 21,768 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 6.68 m/s | 24,692 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7 m/s | 27,043 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Sutton County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Schleicher County, averages 6.39 m/s.
- Schleicher County, TX: 6.39 m/s, 22,595 kWh, payback 28 years (26 mi)
- Edwards County, TX: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 31 years (39 mi)
- Kimble County, TX: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 29 years (46 mi)
- Menard County, TX: 6.21 m/s, 21,262 kWh, payback 29 years (46 mi)
- Crockett County, TX: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 29 years (55 mi)
- Val Verde County, TX: 6.01 m/s, 19,778 kWh, payback 32 years (58 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sutton County
Sutton 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 2,178. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.4 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.