Wind Turbine Payback in Orleans County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Orleans 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 Orleans County, NY averages 6.86 m/s (15.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 26,036 kWh a year, worth $7,618 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 13 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Orleans 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 1,048 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,604, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 19¢/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
Orleans County is the 26th 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 Orleans County
January is the strongest month here, at 8.53 m/s and about 3,150 kWh. August is the weakest, 5.21 m/s and 1,188 kWh, so the best month makes 2.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Orleans County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.53 m/s | 3,150 kWh | $922 |
| February | 8.35 m/s | 2,760 kWh | $808 |
| March | 7.37 m/s | 2,520 kWh | $737 |
| April | 7.14 m/s | 2,304 kWh | $674 |
| May | 6.06 m/s | 1,714 kWh | $502 |
| June | 5.62 m/s | 1,392 kWh | $407 |
| July | 5.35 m/s | 1,272 kWh | $372 |
| August | 5.21 m/s | 1,188 kWh | $348 |
| September | 5.66 m/s | 1,414 kWh | $414 |
| October | 7.16 m/s | 2,392 kWh | $700 |
| November | 7.65 m/s | 2,590 kWh | $758 |
| December | 8.28 m/s | 3,022 kWh | $884 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Orleans County averages 5.95 m/s; at 50 m it is 7.33 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.130, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 23,458 to 29,368 kWh a year, 25% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 6.51 m/s | 23,458 kWh | 15 years |
| 30 m | 6.86 m/s | 26,030 kWh | 13 years |
| 40 m | 7.12 m/s | 27,900 kWh | 12 years |
| 50 m | 7.33 m/s | 29,368 kWh | 12 years |
Counties around Orleans County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Niagara County, averages 6.87 m/s.
- Genesee County, NY: 4.08 m/s, 6,986 kWh, payback 49 years (23 mi)
- Monroe County, NY: 6.61 m/s, 24,216 kWh, payback 14 years (26 mi)
- Niagara County, NY: 6.87 m/s, 26,109 kWh, payback 13 years (31 mi)
- Wyoming County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (44 mi)
- Livingston County, NY: 3.94 m/s, 6,280 kWh, payback 54 years (47 mi)
- Erie County, NY: 5.02 m/s, 12,670 kWh, payback 27 years (50 mi)
Sun versus wind in Orleans County
Orleans 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 2,604. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.5 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.