Plains, TXLocal --:--Sun now --Daylight today --
Sun on a roof in Plains.
The PVWatts model puts a generic roof array in Plains at 1,774 kWh a year for each kW of panels, using typical-year weather from a station 2.2 km away. A modeled estimate for a standard setup, not a measurement of any roof.
A year on one roof.
Scroll from January to December: the noon sun over Plains climbs and falls, and the modeled output follows it.
kWh per kW DC, modeled by PVWatts. Best month 175, weakest 116: a ratio of 1.51.
How Plains comparesderived from the figures above
Where Plains sits.
Plains ranks 23rd of 1220 Texas places modeled here, at the 98th percentile. Its 1,774 kWh per kW is above the Texas median of 1,515. The strongest months are May, April, June and the weakest are December, November, January; output peaks in May and bottoms out in December. In all, 27.6% of the year arrives in June, July and August, less than the 29.3% of the median place.
Closest modeled neighbors
- Denver City, 24 km south: 1,766 kWh per kW, 8 less than Plains.
- Seagraves, 36 km southeast: 1,778 kWh per kW, 4 more than Plains.
- Wellman, 40 km southeast: 1,760 kWh per kW, 14 less than Plains.
- Sundown, 43 km northeast: 1,752 kWh per kW, 22 less than Plains.
- Whiteface, 50 km northeast: 1,780 kWh per kW, 6 more than Plains.
- Brownfield, 51 km east: 1,763 kWh per kW, 11 less than Plains.
- Seminole, 55 km south: 1,764 kWh per kW, 10 less than Plains.
- Meadow, 59 km east: 1,752 kWh per kW, 22 less than Plains.
- Morton, 59 km north: 1,759 kWh per kW, 15 less than Plains.
Against El Paso
The nearest of the six largest modeled places is El Paso, 370 km to the southwest, at 1,835 kWh per kW. Plains models 61 kWh per kW (3.3%) below it. Plains lies 1.34 degrees of latitude north of El Paso, and the sun stands higher in the sky the further south you go, which matches its lower modeled output. The weather station for Plains is 2.2 km from the modeled point, against 0.9 km for El Paso, so part of the gap can come from which station's typical year was used.
The second-nearest large place is Fort Worth, 512 km east, where the same model gives 1,535 kWh per kW, so Plains runs 239 above that figure. Against the Texas median place month by month, Plains runs at least 2% higher in January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Electricity in Yoakum CountyEIA-861
Electricity prices nearby
Providers listed in the county
- Southwestern Public Service Co: 13.94¢ per kWh, a bundled average, 223,685 residential customers across 45 counties.
- Lyntegar Electric Coop, Inc: 10.35¢ per kWh, a bundled average, 9,163 residential customers across 12 counties.
- Lea County Electric Coop, Inc: 10.64¢ per kWh, a bundled average, 2,206 residential customers across 3 counties.
They are the largest bundled providers whose EIA service territory lists the county. A county can list several, and which one serves a street depends on the address, so check your bill. Priced at the first provider's average, the modeled 1,774 kWh would come to $247 per kW a year, plain multiplication and not a savings estimate.
Modeled estimateruns in your browser
Size the array, see the kWh.
Scale the Plains model to another array size, take off extra losses for shade or dirt, and price the energy at any rate. It is arithmetic on the PVWatts output above, nothing more: not a quote, not a savings estimate and not advice.
Starting rate: the Texas residential average of 15.4¢ per kWh. At that rate the modeled output is worth $273 per kW a year as plain multiplication.
PVWatts v8station 541260
Month by month, per kW.
| Month | kWh per kW |
|---|---|
| January | 125.7 |
| February | 131.3 |
| March | 157.1 |
| April | 165.9 |
| May | 175.1 |
| June | 165.9 |
| July | 163.4 |
| August | 159.8 |
| September | 147.8 |
| October | 144.8 |
| November | 121.3 |
| December | 115.6 |
| Year | 1,774 |
Model assumptions
- System size
- 1 kWDC, results scale per kW
- Mount
- fixed roof mount
- Tilt
- 20°
- Azimuth
- 180°due south
- Modules
- standard
- System losses
- 14%
Location 33.19, -102.82 (Plains, population 1,358). Weather: typical-year data from station 541260, 2.2 km from that point.
Getting a measured number
A model cannot see your roof. Installers measure pitch, shade and the electrical panel on site. Quote marketplaces such as EnergySage, SolarReviews and WattBuy collect bids from local installers. Rate & Roof does not rank installers.
Next step
Payback, buyback.
The sliders above price the energy at one rate. The payback calculator adds the system cost and your buyback plan type, and shows every assumption. It is an estimate, not advice.
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Rates change. Get told.
One list, for Texas solar buyback plans. We write when a tracked rate changes and when new city data is published. Nothing else, and nothing until you confirm.