Wind Turbine Payback in Taylor County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Taylor 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 Taylor County, TX averages 6.38 m/s (14.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,521 kWh a year, worth $3,610 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 Taylor County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Taylor County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.38 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,489 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,252, 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 6.38. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Taylor County is the 359th 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 Taylor County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.38 m/s and about 2,441 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.38 m/s and 1,287 kWh, so the best month makes 1.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 45% of the year's output in Taylor County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.46 m/s | 1,962 kWh | $315 |
| February | 6.66 m/s | 1,888 kWh | $303 |
| March | 6.96 m/s | 2,271 kWh | $364 |
| April | 7.38 m/s | 2,441 kWh | $391 |
| May | 6.76 m/s | 2,151 kWh | $345 |
| June | 6.43 m/s | 1,882 kWh | $302 |
| July | 5.65 m/s | 1,457 kWh | $234 |
| August | 5.38 m/s | 1,287 kWh | $206 |
| September | 5.49 m/s | 1,314 kWh | $211 |
| October | 6.32 m/s | 1,878 kWh | $301 |
| November | 6.57 m/s | 1,969 kWh | $316 |
| December | 6.46 m/s | 1,962 kWh | $315 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Taylor County averages 5 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.14 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.221, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,456 to 28,038 kWh a year, 52% 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 | 5.83 m/s | 18,456 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 6.38 m/s | 22,505 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.8 m/s | 25,576 kWh | 24 years |
| 50 m | 7.14 m/s | 28,038 kWh | 22 years |
Counties around Taylor County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Taylor County.
- Callahan County, TX: 6.26 m/s, 21,632 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Nolan County, TX: 6.33 m/s, 22,151 kWh, payback 28 years (31 mi)
- Jones County, TX: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 28 years (31 mi)
- Runnels County, TX: 6.15 m/s, 20,816 kWh, payback 30 years (32 mi)
- Coleman County, TX: 6.11 m/s, 20,520 kWh, payback 30 years (41 mi)
- Fisher County, TX: 6.33 m/s, 22,151 kWh, payback 28 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Taylor County
Taylor County gets 5.1 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,489 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,252. 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.