Wind Turbine Payback in Hamilton County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County, NY averages 3.83 m/s (8.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,753 kWh a year, worth $1,683 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 59 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hamilton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hamilton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.83 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,040 kWh a year here against the turbine's 575, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 87¢/kWh, 3.0 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.83. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Hamilton County is the 2,190th 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 Hamilton County
February is the strongest month here, at 4.81 m/s and about 864 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.01 m/s and 224 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Hamilton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.60 m/s | 843 kWh | $247 |
| February | 4.81 m/s | 864 kWh | $253 |
| March | 4.57 m/s | 827 kWh | $242 |
| April | 4.26 m/s | 656 kWh | $192 |
| May | 3.58 m/s | 396 kWh | $116 |
| June | 3.22 m/s | 270 kWh | $79 |
| July | 3.06 m/s | 237 kWh | $69 |
| August | 3.01 m/s | 224 kWh | $66 |
| September | 3.18 m/s | 261 kWh | $76 |
| October | 3.61 m/s | 407 kWh | $119 |
| November | 3.92 m/s | 509 kWh | $149 |
| December | 4.25 m/s | 670 kWh | $196 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hamilton County averages 2.45 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.72 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.407, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,404 to 10,698 kWh a year, 214% 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 | 3.25 m/s | 3,404 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.83 m/s | 5,772 kWh | 59 years |
| 40 m | 4.31 m/s | 8,234 kWh | 42 years |
| 50 m | 4.72 m/s | 10,698 kWh | 32 years |
Counties around Hamilton County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lewis County, averages 4.03 m/s.
- Herkimer County, NY: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback 59 years (18 mi)
- Warren County, NY: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback 84 years (34 mi)
- Fulton County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (38 mi)
- Essex County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (48 mi)
- Lewis County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (48 mi)
- Saratoga County, NY: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback 95 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hamilton County
Hamilton County gets 3.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,040 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 575. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.