Wind Turbine Payback in Montgomery County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, NY averages 3.61 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,778 kWh a year, worth $1,398 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 72 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Montgomery County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Montgomery County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.61 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,086 kWh a year here against the turbine's 478, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 105¢/kWh, 3.6 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.61. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Montgomery County is the 2,382nd 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 Montgomery County
February is the strongest month here, at 4.62 m/s and about 774 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.80 m/s and 173 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Montgomery County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.42 m/s | 754 kWh | $221 |
| February | 4.62 m/s | 774 kWh | $226 |
| March | 4.35 m/s | 718 kWh | $210 |
| April | 4.00 m/s | 542 kWh | $159 |
| May | 3.34 m/s | 317 kWh | $93 |
| June | 3.01 m/s | 215 kWh | $63 |
| July | 2.85 m/s | 186 kWh | $54 |
| August | 2.80 m/s | 173 kWh | $51 |
| September | 2.93 m/s | 198 kWh | $58 |
| October | 3.38 m/s | 328 kWh | $96 |
| November | 3.65 m/s | 407 kWh | $119 |
| December | 4.03 m/s | 571 kWh | $167 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Montgomery County averages 2.26 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,709 to 9,279 kWh a year, 243% 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 | 3.04 m/s | 2,709 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.61 m/s | 4,778 kWh | 72 years |
| 40 m | 4.08 m/s | 6,996 kWh | 49 years |
| 50 m | 4.49 m/s | 9,279 kWh | 37 years |
Counties around Montgomery County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Otsego County, averages 3.86 m/s.
- Fulton County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (15 mi)
- Schenectady County, NY: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback 95 years (21 mi)
- Schoharie County, NY: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback 62 years (21 mi)
- Albany County, NY: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 74 years (32 mi)
- Saratoga County, NY: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback 95 years (33 mi)
- Otsego County, NY: 3.86 m/s, 5,894 kWh, payback 58 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Montgomery County
Montgomery County gets 3.72 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,086 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 478. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.