Wind Turbine Payback in Nassau County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Nassau County
Only just. The money comes back late in the turbine's life.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Nassau County, NY averages 6.34 m/s (14.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,225 kWh a year, worth $6,503 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 15 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Nassau County
It is close enough that your own site decides it. If you have open land with no trees or buildings upwind, ask an installer to log the wind at 30 m or higher; anything above 5.6 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,171 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,223, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 22¢/kWh and NY pays 29.26¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 5.6 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of NY
Nassau County is the 420th 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 Nassau County
January is the strongest month here, at 7.35 m/s and about 2,506 kWh. August is the weakest, 4.89 m/s and 1,003 kWh, so the best month makes 2.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 53% of the year's output in Nassau County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.35 m/s | 2,506 kWh | $733 |
| February | 7.34 m/s | 2,259 kWh | $661 |
| March | 7.18 m/s | 2,408 kWh | $705 |
| April | 6.71 m/s | 2,053 kWh | $601 |
| May | 5.88 m/s | 1,596 kWh | $467 |
| June | 5.38 m/s | 1,247 kWh | $365 |
| July | 5.08 m/s | 1,113 kWh | $326 |
| August | 4.89 m/s | 1,003 kWh | $293 |
| September | 5.50 m/s | 1,317 kWh | $385 |
| October | 6.58 m/s | 2,036 kWh | $596 |
| November | 6.91 m/s | 2,168 kWh | $634 |
| December | 7.27 m/s | 2,457 kWh | $719 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Nassau County averages 5.31 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.88 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.161, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 19,233 to 26,181 kWh a year, 36% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 5.94 m/s | 19,233 kWh | 18 years |
| 30 m | 6.34 m/s | 22,201 kWh | 15 years |
| 40 m | 6.64 m/s | 24,415 kWh | 14 years |
| 50 m | 6.88 m/s | 26,181 kWh | 13 years |
Counties around Nassau County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Nassau County.
- Queens County, NY: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 15 years (14 mi)
- Bronx County, NY: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 37 years (16 mi)
- Kings County, NY: 6.34 m/s, 22,225 kWh, payback 15 years (20 mi)
- New York County, NY: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 37 years (20 mi)
- Hudson County, NJ: 4.44 m/s, 8,982 kWh, payback 46 years (26 mi)
- Bergen County, NJ: 3.66 m/s, 4,991 kWh, payback 83 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Nassau County
Nassau County gets 4.01 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,171 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,223. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.9 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio.
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.