Wind Turbine Payback in Franklin County, MA
Wind turbine payback in Franklin 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 Franklin County, MA averages 3.59 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,694 kWh a year, worth $1,417 at MA's 30.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 71 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Franklin County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Franklin County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.59 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,104 kWh a year here against the turbine's 469, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 107¢/kWh, 3.5 times what MA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.59. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MA
Franklin County is the 2,419th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MA is Barnstable County at 8.21 m/s, payback 9 years.
Month by month in Franklin County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.27 m/s and about 678 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.89 m/s and 195 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Franklin County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.18 m/s | 637 kWh | $192 |
| February | 4.37 m/s | 657 kWh | $198 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 678 kWh | $205 |
| April | 3.93 m/s | 512 kWh | $155 |
| May | 3.33 m/s | 313 kWh | $94 |
| June | 3.01 m/s | 216 kWh | $65 |
| July | 2.92 m/s | 200 kWh | $60 |
| August | 2.89 m/s | 195 kWh | $59 |
| September | 3.09 m/s | 237 kWh | $72 |
| October | 3.51 m/s | 372 kWh | $112 |
| November | 3.68 m/s | 418 kWh | $126 |
| December | 3.92 m/s | 526 kWh | $159 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Franklin County averages 2.21 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.440, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,602 to 9,279 kWh a year, 257% 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 m/s | 2,602 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.59 m/s | 4,678 kWh | 71 years |
| 40 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,935 kWh | 48 years |
| 50 m | 4.49 m/s | 9,279 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Franklin County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Windham County, averages 3.64 m/s.
- Hampshire County, MA: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback 71 years (17 mi)
- Windham County, VT: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback 85 years (29 mi)
- Cheshire County, NH: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback 76 years (29 mi)
- Hampden County, MA: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback 75 years (31 mi)
- Berkshire County, MA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 69 years (35 mi)
- Worcester County, MA: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback 73 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Franklin County
Franklin County gets 3.78 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,104 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 469. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.