Wind Turbine Payback in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT
Wind turbine payback in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT averages 5.26 m/s (11.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 14,327 kWh a year, worth $3,936 at CT's 27.47¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 25 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 5.26 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,130 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,433, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 35¢/kWh, 1.3 times what CT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 5.26. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of CT
Greater Bridgeport Planning Region is the 1,339th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in CT.
Month by month in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
January is the strongest month here, at 6.26 m/s and about 1,838 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.08 m/s and 594 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.26 m/s | 1,838 kWh | $505 |
| February | 6.26 m/s | 1,660 kWh | $456 |
| March | 6.04 m/s | 1,696 kWh | $466 |
| April | 5.44 m/s | 1,285 kWh | $353 |
| May | 4.71 m/s | 903 kWh | $248 |
| June | 4.32 m/s | 683 kWh | $188 |
| July | 4.17 m/s | 634 kWh | $174 |
| August | 4.08 m/s | 594 kWh | $163 |
| September | 4.55 m/s | 791 kWh | $217 |
| October | 5.44 m/s | 1,328 kWh | $365 |
| November | 5.78 m/s | 1,484 kWh | $408 |
| December | 6.12 m/s | 1,747 kWh | $480 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region averages 4.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.213, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 11,348 to 18,669 kWh a year, 65% 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 | 4.82 m/s | 11,348 kWh | 32 years |
| 30 m | 5.26 m/s | 14,298 kWh | 26 years |
| 40 m | 5.59 m/s | 16,674 kWh | 22 years |
| 50 m | 5.86 m/s | 18,669 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Suffolk County, averages 6.01 m/s.
- Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback 87 years (14 mi)
- South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback 74 years (21 mi)
- Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback 74 years (24 mi)
- Westchester County, NY: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 37 years (28 mi)
- Suffolk County, NY: 6.01 m/s, 19,778 kWh, payback 17 years (32 mi)
- Putnam County, NY: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback 81 years (32 mi)
Sun versus wind in Greater Bridgeport Planning Region
Greater Bridgeport Planning Region gets 3.87 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,130 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,433. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.3 times. 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.