Wind Turbine Payback in Trinity County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Trinity 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 Trinity County, TX averages 3.3 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,577 kWh a year, worth $573 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Trinity County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Trinity County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 3.3 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,358 kWh a year here against the turbine's 358, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 140¢/kWh, 8.7 times what TX pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.6 m/s instead of 3.3. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Trinity County is the 2,741st 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 Trinity County
April is the strongest month here, at 3.81 m/s and about 464 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.69 m/s and 150 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Trinity County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.53 m/s | 376 kWh | $60 |
| February | 3.62 m/s | 370 kWh | $59 |
| March | 3.71 m/s | 442 kWh | $71 |
| April | 3.81 m/s | 464 kWh | $74 |
| May | 3.46 m/s | 355 kWh | $57 |
| June | 2.97 m/s | 206 kWh | $33 |
| July | 2.69 m/s | 150 kWh | $24 |
| August | 2.69 m/s | 151 kWh | $24 |
| September | 2.89 m/s | 189 kWh | $30 |
| October | 3.25 m/s | 290 kWh | $46 |
| November | 3.49 m/s | 351 kWh | $56 |
| December | 3.52 m/s | 374 kWh | $60 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Trinity County averages 2.04 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.13 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.438, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,957 to 7,248 kWh a year, 270% 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 | 2.76 m/s | 1,957 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.3 m/s | 3,584 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.75 m/s | 5,366 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.13 m/s | 7,248 kWh | 86 years |
Counties around Trinity County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Houston County, averages 4.53 m/s.
- Houston County, TX: 4.53 m/s, 9,519 kWh, payback 66 years (22 mi)
- Polk County, TX: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Angelina County, TX: 3.2 m/s, 3,232 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Walker County, TX: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
- San Jacinto County, TX: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Madison County, TX: 4.35 m/s, 8,460 kWh, payback 74 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Trinity County
Trinity County gets 4.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,358 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 358. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.8 times as much here as the turbine. 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.