Wind Turbine Payback in Volusia County, FL
Wind turbine payback in Volusia 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 Volusia County, FL averages 4.38 m/s (9.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,632 kWh a year, worth $1,322 at FL's 15.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 76 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Volusia County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Volusia County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.8 m/s at the hub against 4.38 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,393 kWh a year here against the turbine's 863, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 58¢/kWh, 3.8 times what FL pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.8 m/s instead of 4.38. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of FL
Volusia County is the 1,837th 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 Volusia County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.92 m/s and about 1,019 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.31 m/s and 308 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Volusia County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.89 m/s | 1,005 kWh | $154 |
| February | 4.78 m/s | 851 kWh | $130 |
| March | 4.92 m/s | 1,019 kWh | $156 |
| April | 4.78 m/s | 912 kWh | $140 |
| May | 4.39 m/s | 736 kWh | $113 |
| June | 3.66 m/s | 410 kWh | $63 |
| July | 3.31 m/s | 308 kWh | $47 |
| August | 3.51 m/s | 372 kWh | $57 |
| September | 4.16 m/s | 609 kWh | $93 |
| October | 4.57 m/s | 832 kWh | $127 |
| November | 4.78 m/s | 912 kWh | $140 |
| December | 4.76 m/s | 928 kWh | $142 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Volusia County averages 3.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.07 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.288, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,057 to 13,010 kWh a year, 115% 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 | 3.89 m/s | 6,057 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,612 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.75 m/s | 10,918 kWh | 60 years |
| 50 m | 5.07 m/s | 13,010 kWh | 50 years |
Counties around Volusia County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Seminole County, averages 4.65 m/s.
- Seminole County, FL: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (25 mi)
- Flagler County, FL: 4.01 m/s, 6,628 kWh, payback 99 years (30 mi)
- Orange County, FL: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 64 years (39 mi)
- Lake County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (39 mi)
- Putnam County, FL: 3.78 m/s, 5,523 kWh, payback over 100 years (51 mi)
- Marion County, FL: 4.42 m/s, 8,865 kWh, payback 74 years (54 mi)
Sun versus wind in Volusia County
Volusia County gets 4.77 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,393 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 863. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.6 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.