Wind Turbine Payback in Jefferson County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County, NY averages 5.05 m/s (11.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 12,873 kWh a year, worth $3,767 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 27 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Jefferson County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Jefferson County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 5.05 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,048 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,287, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 39¢/kWh, 1.3 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 5.05. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Jefferson County is the 1,430th 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 Jefferson County
January is the strongest month here, at 6.24 m/s and about 1,825 kWh. June is the weakest, 3.95 m/s and 521 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Jefferson County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.24 m/s | 1,825 kWh | $534 |
| February | 6.29 m/s | 1,674 kWh | $490 |
| March | 5.71 m/s | 1,494 kWh | $437 |
| April | 5.28 m/s | 1,192 kWh | $349 |
| May | 4.30 m/s | 695 kWh | $203 |
| June | 3.95 m/s | 521 kWh | $152 |
| July | 3.94 m/s | 535 kWh | $157 |
| August | 3.98 m/s | 550 kWh | $161 |
| September | 4.30 m/s | 672 kWh | $197 |
| October | 5.19 m/s | 1,173 kWh | $343 |
| November | 5.59 m/s | 1,371 kWh | $401 |
| December | 5.95 m/s | 1,640 kWh | $480 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Jefferson County averages 3.97 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.65 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.219, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,087 to 17,126 kWh a year, 70% 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 | 4.62 m/s | 10,087 kWh | 34 years |
| 30 m | 5.05 m/s | 12,887 kWh | 27 years |
| 40 m | 5.38 m/s | 15,180 kWh | 23 years |
| 50 m | 5.65 m/s | 17,126 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Jefferson County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Jefferson County.
- Lewis County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (34 mi)
- Oswego County, NY: 4.74 m/s, 10,826 kWh, payback 32 years (38 mi)
- St. Lawrence County, NY: 3.91 m/s, 6,134 kWh, payback 56 years (59 mi)
- Oneida County, NY: 3.88 m/s, 5,989 kWh, payback 57 years (61 mi)
- Herkimer County, NY: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback 59 years (67 mi)
- Onondaga County, NY: 3.95 m/s, 6,329 kWh, payback 54 years (69 mi)
Sun versus wind in Jefferson County
Jefferson 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 1,287. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 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.