Wind Turbine Payback in Upton County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Upton 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 Upton County, TX averages 6.37 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,447 kWh a year, worth $3,598 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 Upton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Upton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.37 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,629 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,245, 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 6.37. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Upton County is the 380th 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 Upton County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.18 m/s and about 2,329 kWh. September is the weakest, 5.77 m/s and 1,482 kWh, so the best month makes 1.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 41% of the year's output in Upton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.19 m/s | 1,796 kWh | $288 |
| February | 6.52 m/s | 1,806 kWh | $290 |
| March | 6.81 m/s | 2,183 kWh | $350 |
| April | 7.18 m/s | 2,329 kWh | $373 |
| May | 6.82 m/s | 2,189 kWh | $351 |
| June | 6.74 m/s | 2,070 kWh | $332 |
| July | 6.05 m/s | 1,706 kWh | $273 |
| August | 5.76 m/s | 1,525 kWh | $244 |
| September | 5.77 m/s | 1,482 kWh | $238 |
| October | 6.23 m/s | 1,819 kWh | $292 |
| November | 6.23 m/s | 1,760 kWh | $282 |
| December | 6.14 m/s | 1,762 kWh | $282 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Upton County averages 5.05 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.09 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.211, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,548 to 27,684 kWh a year, 49% 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 | 5.84 m/s | 18,548 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 6.37 m/s | 22,414 kWh | 28 years |
| 40 m | 6.76 m/s | 25,340 kWh | 25 years |
| 50 m | 7.09 m/s | 27,684 kWh | 23 years |
Counties around Upton County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Reagan County, averages 6.51 m/s.
- Crane County, TX: 6.06 m/s, 20,149 kWh, payback 31 years (27 mi)
- Reagan County, TX: 6.51 m/s, 23,481 kWh, payback 27 years (31 mi)
- Midland County, TX: 6.3 m/s, 21,929 kWh, payback 28 years (32 mi)
- Ector County, TX: 6.12 m/s, 20,594 kWh, payback 30 years (46 mi)
- Glasscock County, TX: 6.38 m/s, 22,521 kWh, payback 28 years (47 mi)
- Pecos County, TX: 6.32 m/s, 22,077 kWh, payback 28 years (57 mi)
Sun versus wind in Upton County
Upton County gets 5.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,629 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,245. 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.