Wind Turbine Payback in Terry County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Terry 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 Terry County, TX averages 6.14 m/s (13.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,742 kWh a year, worth $3,325 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 30 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Terry County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Terry County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.14 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,609 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,074, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 24¢/kWh, 1.5 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 6.14. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Terry County is the 646th 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 Terry County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.07 m/s and about 2,264 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.28 m/s and 1,229 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 44% of the year's output in Terry County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.22 m/s | 1,809 kWh | $290 |
| February | 6.43 m/s | 1,756 kWh | $281 |
| March | 6.64 m/s | 2,077 kWh | $333 |
| April | 7.07 m/s | 2,264 kWh | $363 |
| May | 6.49 m/s | 1,983 kWh | $318 |
| June | 6.25 m/s | 1,773 kWh | $284 |
| July | 5.48 m/s | 1,348 kWh | $216 |
| August | 5.28 m/s | 1,229 kWh | $197 |
| September | 5.41 m/s | 1,262 kWh | $202 |
| October | 5.98 m/s | 1,658 kWh | $266 |
| November | 6.15 m/s | 1,713 kWh | $275 |
| December | 6.22 m/s | 1,809 kWh | $290 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Terry County averages 4.78 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.89 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.227, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,733 to 26,253 kWh a year, 57% 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 | 5.6 m/s | 16,733 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 6.14 m/s | 20,710 kWh | 30 years |
| 40 m | 6.55 m/s | 23,773 kWh | 26 years |
| 50 m | 6.89 m/s | 26,253 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Terry County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cochran County, averages 6.28 m/s.
- Yoakum County, TX: 6.16 m/s, 20,891 kWh, payback 30 years (29 mi)
- Hockley County, TX: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Lynn County, TX: 6.23 m/s, 21,410 kWh, payback 29 years (30 mi)
- Gaines County, TX: 6.11 m/s, 20,520 kWh, payback 30 years (34 mi)
- Dawson County, TX: 6.22 m/s, 21,336 kWh, payback 29 years (37 mi)
- Cochran County, TX: 6.28 m/s, 21,781 kWh, payback 29 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Terry County
Terry County gets 5.51 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,609 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,074. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.3 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.