Wind Turbine Payback in Young County, TX
Wind turbine payback in Young 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 Young County, TX averages 6.07 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,223 kWh a year, worth $3,242 at TX's 16.03¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 31 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Young County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Young County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.6 m/s at the hub against 6.07 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,451 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,022, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 25¢/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 6.07. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of TX
Young County is the 717th 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 Young County
April is the strongest month here, at 7.13 m/s and about 2,300 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.00 m/s and 1,062 kWh, so the best month makes 2.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 46% of the year's output in Young County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.22 m/s | 1,809 kWh | $290 |
| February | 6.38 m/s | 1,730 kWh | $277 |
| March | 6.71 m/s | 2,116 kWh | $339 |
| April | 7.13 m/s | 2,300 kWh | $369 |
| May | 6.41 m/s | 1,933 kWh | $310 |
| June | 6.02 m/s | 1,632 kWh | $262 |
| July | 5.29 m/s | 1,235 kWh | $198 |
| August | 5.00 m/s | 1,062 kWh | $170 |
| September | 5.16 m/s | 1,123 kWh | $180 |
| October | 6.03 m/s | 1,692 kWh | $271 |
| November | 6.38 m/s | 1,854 kWh | $297 |
| December | 6.19 m/s | 1,793 kWh | $287 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Young County averages 4.73 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.82 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 16,321 to 25,747 kWh a year, 58% 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 | 5.54 m/s | 16,321 kWh | 38 years |
| 30 m | 6.07 m/s | 20,247 kWh | 31 years |
| 40 m | 6.48 m/s | 23,283 kWh | 27 years |
| 50 m | 6.82 m/s | 25,747 kWh | 24 years |
Counties around Young County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Throckmorton County, averages 6.16 m/s.
- Jack County, TX: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 32 years (30 mi)
- Throckmorton County, TX: 6.16 m/s, 20,891 kWh, payback 30 years (31 mi)
- Stephens County, TX: 6.13 m/s, 20,668 kWh, payback 30 years (31 mi)
- Archer County, TX: 6.03 m/s, 19,926 kWh, payback 31 years (32 mi)
- Palo Pinto County, TX: 5.94 m/s, 19,260 kWh, payback 32 years (35 mi)
- Baylor County, TX: 6.09 m/s, 20,371 kWh, payback 31 years (44 mi)
Sun versus wind in Young County
Young County gets 4.97 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,451 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,022. 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.