Wind Turbine Payback in Union County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Union 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 Union County, FL averages 3.3 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,577 kWh a year, worth $548 at FL's 15.32¢/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 Union County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Union County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 3.3 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,384 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, 9.1 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 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 FL
Union 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 FL is Brevard County at 5.62 m/s, payback 39 years.
Month by month in Union County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.70 m/s and about 440 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.63 m/s and 140 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Union County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.64 m/s | 416 kWh | $64 |
| February | 3.62 m/s | 370 kWh | $57 |
| March | 3.70 m/s | 440 kWh | $67 |
| April | 3.58 m/s | 383 kWh | $59 |
| May | 3.30 m/s | 302 kWh | $46 |
| June | 2.85 m/s | 178 kWh | $27 |
| July | 2.63 m/s | 140 kWh | $21 |
| August | 2.74 m/s | 161 kWh | $25 |
| September | 3.17 m/s | 258 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.38 m/s | 327 kWh | $50 |
| November | 3.51 m/s | 358 kWh | $55 |
| December | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $58 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Union County averages 2.13 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.05 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.399, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,072 to 6,831 kWh a year, 230% 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 | 2.81 m/s | 2,072 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.3 m/s | 3,588 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,186 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.05 m/s | 6,831 kWh | 96 years |
Counties around Union County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Bradford County, averages 3.85 m/s.
- Bradford County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Baker County, FL: 3.01 m/s, 2,631 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Columbia County, FL: 3.3 m/s, 3,577 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Alachua County, FL: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Clay County, FL: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Gilchrist County, FL: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
Sun versus wind in Union County
Union County gets 4.74 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,384 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 358. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.9 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.