Wind Turbine Payback in Genesee County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Genesee 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 Genesee County, NY averages 4.08 m/s (9.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,986 kWh a year, worth $2,044 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 49 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Genesee County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Genesee County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 4.08 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,048 kWh a year here against the turbine's 699, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 72¢/kWh, 2.4 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 4.08. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Genesee County is the 2,011th 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 Genesee County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.22 m/s and about 1,195 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.17 m/s and 266 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 63% of the year's output in Genesee County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.22 m/s | 1,195 kWh | $350 |
| February | 5.27 m/s | 1,105 kWh | $323 |
| March | 4.69 m/s | 891 kWh | $261 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 675 kWh | $198 |
| May | 3.58 m/s | 394 kWh | $115 |
| June | 3.35 m/s | 309 kWh | $90 |
| July | 3.24 m/s | 285 kWh | $83 |
| August | 3.17 m/s | 266 kWh | $78 |
| September | 3.34 m/s | 306 kWh | $90 |
| October | 3.91 m/s | 521 kWh | $152 |
| November | 4.28 m/s | 664 kWh | $194 |
| December | 4.69 m/s | 891 kWh | $261 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Genesee County averages 2.6 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.03 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.410, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,151 to 12,737 kWh a year, 207% 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 | 3.45 m/s | 4,151 kWh | 82 years |
| 30 m | 4.08 m/s | 6,984 kWh | 49 years |
| 40 m | 4.59 m/s | 9,887 kWh | 35 years |
| 50 m | 5.03 m/s | 12,737 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Genesee County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Niagara County, averages 6.87 m/s.
- Wyoming County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (21 mi)
- Orleans County, NY: 6.86 m/s, 26,036 kWh, payback 13 years (23 mi)
- Livingston County, NY: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 54 years (28 mi)
- Monroe County, NY: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 14 years (30 mi)
- Erie County, NY: 5.02 m/s, 12,670 kWh, payback 27 years (34 mi)
- Niagara County, NY: 6.87 m/s, 26,109 kWh, payback 13 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Genesee County
Genesee 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 699. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.