Wind Turbine Payback in Ontario County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Ontario 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 Ontario County, NY averages 4.16 m/s (9.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,408 kWh a year, worth $2,167 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 46 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Ontario County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Ontario County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 4.16 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,060 kWh a year here against the turbine's 741, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 67¢/kWh, 2.3 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 4.16. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Ontario County is the 1,973rd 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 Ontario County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.27 m/s and about 1,221 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.19 m/s and 271 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 63% of the year's output in Ontario County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.27 m/s | 1,221 kWh | $357 |
| February | 5.35 m/s | 1,148 kWh | $336 |
| March | 4.84 m/s | 977 kWh | $286 |
| April | 4.43 m/s | 734 kWh | $215 |
| May | 3.65 m/s | 421 kWh | $123 |
| June | 3.37 m/s | 315 kWh | $92 |
| July | 3.23 m/s | 283 kWh | $83 |
| August | 3.19 m/s | 271 kWh | $79 |
| September | 3.40 m/s | 325 kWh | $95 |
| October | 4.00 m/s | 559 kWh | $164 |
| November | 4.40 m/s | 718 kWh | $210 |
| December | 4.80 m/s | 954 kWh | $279 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Ontario County averages 2.77 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.02 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.369, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,652 to 12,670 kWh a year, 172% 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 | 3.58 m/s | 4,652 kWh | 74 years |
| 30 m | 4.16 m/s | 7,395 kWh | 46 years |
| 40 m | 4.62 m/s | 10,090 kWh | 34 years |
| 50 m | 5.02 m/s | 12,670 kWh | 27 years |
Counties around Ontario County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Monroe County, averages 6.61 m/s.
- Yates County, NY: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback 58 years (18 mi)
- Seneca County, NY: 4.06 m/s, 6,883 kWh, payback 50 years (25 mi)
- Livingston County, NY: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 54 years (26 mi)
- Wayne County, NY: 4.06 m/s, 6,883 kWh, payback 50 years (28 mi)
- Monroe County, NY: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 14 years (34 mi)
- Schuyler County, NY: 3.85 m/s, 5,847 kWh, payback 58 years (35 mi)
Sun versus wind in Ontario County
Ontario County gets 3.63 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,060 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 741. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.4 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.