Wind Turbine Payback in Allegany County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Allegany 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 Allegany County, NY averages 3.89 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,037 kWh a year, worth $1,766 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 57 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Allegany County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Allegany County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.89 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,048 kWh a year here against the turbine's 604, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 83¢/kWh, 2.8 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.89. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Allegany County is the 2,141st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NY is Niagara County at 6.87 m/s, payback 13 years.
Month by month in Allegany County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.94 m/s and about 1,030 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.90 m/s and 196 kWh, so the best month makes 5.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Allegany County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.94 m/s | 1,030 kWh | $301 |
| February | 4.98 m/s | 951 kWh | $278 |
| March | 4.57 m/s | 828 kWh | $242 |
| April | 4.24 m/s | 646 kWh | $189 |
| May | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $111 |
| June | 3.21 m/s | 267 kWh | $78 |
| July | 2.96 m/s | 212 kWh | $62 |
| August | 2.90 m/s | 196 kWh | $57 |
| September | 3.13 m/s | 248 kWh | $73 |
| October | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $123 |
| November | 4.04 m/s | 558 kWh | $163 |
| December | 4.49 m/s | 790 kWh | $231 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Allegany County averages 2.47 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.8 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.413, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,533 to 11,212 kWh a year, 217% 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 | 3.29 m/s | 3,533 kWh | 97 years |
| 30 m | 3.89 m/s | 6,023 kWh | 57 years |
| 40 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,617 kWh | 40 years |
| 50 m | 4.8 m/s | 11,212 kWh | 31 years |
Counties around Allegany County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Wyoming County, averages 4.03 m/s.
- Cattaraugus County, NY: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 57 years (33 mi)
- Steuben County, NY: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 54 years (33 mi)
- Wyoming County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (33 mi)
- Potter County, PA: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback 91 years (35 mi)
- Livingston County, NY: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 54 years (36 mi)
- McKean County, PA: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 78 years (41 mi)
Sun versus wind in Allegany County
Allegany County gets 3.59 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,048 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 604. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.