Wind Turbine Payback in Hunterdon County, NJ
Wind turbine payback in Hunterdon 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 Hunterdon County, NJ averages 3.54 m/s (7.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,489 kWh a year, worth $1,081 at NJ's 24.09¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 93 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Hunterdon County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Hunterdon County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.1 m/s at the hub against 3.54 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,145 kWh a year here against the turbine's 449, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 111¢/kWh, 4.6 times what NJ pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.1 m/s instead of 3.54. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NJ
Hunterdon County is the 2,473rd windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in NJ is Cape May County at 6.6 m/s, payback 17 years.
Month by month in Hunterdon County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.24 m/s and about 668 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.73 m/s and 158 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Hunterdon County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.16 m/s | 627 kWh | $151 |
| February | 4.34 m/s | 644 kWh | $155 |
| March | 4.24 m/s | 668 kWh | $161 |
| April | 3.93 m/s | 513 kWh | $124 |
| May | 3.27 m/s | 296 kWh | $71 |
| June | 2.98 m/s | 209 kWh | $50 |
| July | 2.78 m/s | 170 kWh | $41 |
| August | 2.73 m/s | 158 kWh | $38 |
| September | 3.01 m/s | 217 kWh | $52 |
| October | 3.50 m/s | 369 kWh | $89 |
| November | 3.70 m/s | 426 kWh | $103 |
| December | 3.93 m/s | 527 kWh | $127 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Hunterdon County averages 2.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.46 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.450, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,464 to 9,100 kWh a year, 269% 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 | 2.95 m/s | 2,464 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.54 m/s | 4,506 kWh | 92 years |
| 40 m | 4.03 m/s | 6,749 kWh | 62 years |
| 50 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,100 kWh | 46 years |
Counties around Hunterdon County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Somerset County, averages 4.44 m/s.
- Somerset County, NJ: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 46 years (15 mi)
- Bucks County, PA: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Warren County, NJ: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback 92 years (21 mi)
- Mercer County, NJ: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback 93 years (22 mi)
- Northampton County, PA: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Morris County, NJ: 3.66 m/s, 4,991 kWh, payback 83 years (28 mi)
Sun versus wind in Hunterdon County
Hunterdon County gets 3.92 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,145 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 449. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.