Sun on a roof in South Padre Island.

How South Padre Island comparesderived from the figures above

Where South Padre Island sits.

South Padre Island ranks 313th of 1220 Texas places modeled here, at the 74th percentile. Its 1,558 kWh per kW is above the Texas median of 1,515. The strongest months are August, May, July and the weakest are December, January, November; output peaks in August and bottoms out in December. In all, 29.4% of the year arrives in June, July and August, more than the 29.3% of the median place.

Closest modeled neighbors

• Port Isabel, 10 km southwest: 1,537 kWh per kW, 21 less than South Padre Island.
• Laguna Vista, 13 km west: 1,569 kWh per kW, 11 more than South Padre Island.
• Bayview, 23 km west: 1,553 kWh per kW, 5 less than South Padre Island.
• Brownsville, 31 km southwest: 1,517 kWh per kW, 41 less than South Padre Island.
• Los Fresnos, 32 km west: 1,514 kWh per kW, 44 less than South Padre Island.
• Indian Lake, 33 km west: 1,514 kWh per kW, 44 less than South Padre Island.
• Rancho Viejo, 40 km west: 1,526 kWh per kW, 32 less than South Padre Island.
• Rio Hondo, 43 km west: 1,558 kWh per kW, 0 the same as South Padre Island.
• San Benito, 47 km west: 1,532 kWh per kW, 26 less than South Padre Island.

Against San Antonio

The nearest of the six largest modeled places is San Antonio, 394 km to the north, at 1,505 kWh per kW. South Padre Island models 53 kWh per kW (3.5%) above it. South Padre Island lies 3.34 degrees of latitude south of San Antonio, and the sun stands higher in the sky the further south you go, which matches its higher modeled output. The two weather stations sit a similar distance from their points (1.5 km and 2.2 km), so station distance does little to explain the gap, and the weather record does the rest.

The second-nearest large place is Houston, 444 km northeast, where the same model gives 1,422 kWh per kW, so South Padre Island runs 136 above that figure. Against the Texas median place month by month, South Padre Island runs at least 2% higher in February, March, April, May, June, August, October. It runs at least 2% lower in January, November, December.

Electricity in Cameron CountyEIA-861

Electricity prices nearby

EIA lists AEP Texas Central in this county. Where South Padre Island is on AEP Texas Central's lines, homes buy energy from a retail electricity provider and the price depends on the plan. Parts of South Padre Island may instead be served by a co-op or utility listed below, which sets its own rates; check your bill. For scale only, the median 2025 average price across the 60 Texas retail providers on this site is 15.32¢ per kWh, which would put the modeled 1,558 kWh at $239 per kW a year, plain multiplication and not a savings estimate or an offer.

Also listed in the county

• Magic Valley Electric Coop Inc: 10.51¢ per kWh, a bundled average, 129,596 residential customers across 6 counties.
• Brownsville Public Utilities Board: 11.22¢ per kWh, a bundled average, 48,500 residential customers across 1 county.
• AEP Texas Central Company: 5.91¢ per kWh, delivery charges only, before the retail energy price, 793,896 residential customers across 44 counties.

These utilities serve other parts of the county, which can include parts of South Padre Island. They are the largest bundled providers, and the largest delivery-only one, 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.

Modeled estimateruns in your browser

Size the array, see the kWh.

Scale the South Padre Island 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 $240 per kW a year as plain multiplication.