Wind Turbine Payback in Orleans County, VT
Wind turbine payback in Orleans 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 Orleans County, VT averages 3.77 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,477 kWh a year, worth $1,311 at VT's 23.93¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 76 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Orleans County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Orleans County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.2 m/s at the hub against 3.77 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,013 kWh a year here against the turbine's 548, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 91¢/kWh, 3.8 times what VT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.2 m/s instead of 3.77. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VT
Orleans County is the 2,225th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in VT is Franklin County at 3.97 m/s, payback 65 years.
Month by month in Orleans County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.52 m/s and about 803 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.04 m/s and 230 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Orleans County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.38 m/s | 733 kWh | $175 |
| February | 4.66 m/s | 791 kWh | $189 |
| March | 4.52 m/s | 803 kWh | $192 |
| April | 4.21 m/s | 633 kWh | $151 |
| May | 3.55 m/s | 384 kWh | $92 |
| June | 3.19 m/s | 264 kWh | $63 |
| July | 3.05 m/s | 233 kWh | $56 |
| August | 3.04 m/s | 230 kWh | $55 |
| September | 3.23 m/s | 275 kWh | $66 |
| October | 3.60 m/s | 401 kWh | $96 |
| November | 3.88 m/s | 491 kWh | $117 |
| December | 4.03 m/s | 573 kWh | $137 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Orleans County averages 2.48 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.58 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.381, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,334 to 9,824 kWh a year, 195% 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 | 3.23 m/s | 3,334 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.77 m/s | 5,477 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,660 kWh | 55 years |
| 50 m | 4.58 m/s | 9,824 kWh | 43 years |
Counties around Orleans County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Franklin County, averages 3.97 m/s.
- Lamoille County, VT: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback 92 years (24 mi)
- Caledonia County, VT: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback 88 years (26 mi)
- Essex County, VT: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback 88 years (26 mi)
- Franklin County, VT: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 65 years (32 mi)
- Washington County, VT: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback 92 years (42 mi)
- Chittenden County, VT: 3.82 m/s, 5,707 kWh, payback 73 years (47 mi)
Sun versus wind in Orleans County
Orleans County gets 3.47 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,013 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 548. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.8 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.