Wind Turbine Payback in Otsego County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Otsego 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 Otsego County, NY averages 3.86 m/s (8.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,894 kWh a year, worth $1,725 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 58 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Otsego County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Otsego County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.86 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,069 kWh a year here against the turbine's 589, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 85¢/kWh, 2.9 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.86. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Otsego County is the 2,167th 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 Otsego County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.86 m/s and about 984 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.93 m/s and 203 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Otsego County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.86 m/s | 984 kWh | $288 |
| February | 5.00 m/s | 964 kWh | $282 |
| March | 4.61 m/s | 848 kWh | $248 |
| April | 4.18 m/s | 616 kWh | $180 |
| May | 3.50 m/s | 366 kWh | $107 |
| June | 3.15 m/s | 253 kWh | $74 |
| July | 2.94 m/s | 205 kWh | $60 |
| August | 2.93 m/s | 203 kWh | $59 |
| September | 3.14 m/s | 249 kWh | $73 |
| October | 3.61 m/s | 405 kWh | $119 |
| November | 3.98 m/s | 533 kWh | $156 |
| December | 4.44 m/s | 765 kWh | $224 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Otsego County averages 2.46 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.76 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.410, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,469 to 10,954 kWh a year, 216% 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 | 3.27 m/s | 3,469 kWh | 99 years |
| 30 m | 3.86 m/s | 5,897 kWh | 58 years |
| 40 m | 4.34 m/s | 8,425 kWh | 41 years |
| 50 m | 4.76 m/s | 10,954 kWh | 31 years |
Counties around Otsego County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Madison County, averages 3.88 m/s.
- Schoharie County, NY: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback 62 years (30 mi)
- Delaware County, NY: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback 62 years (30 mi)
- Chenango County, NY: 3.84 m/s, 5,800 kWh, payback 59 years (31 mi)
- Montgomery County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (35 mi)
- Madison County, NY: 3.88 m/s, 5,989 kWh, payback 57 years (38 mi)
- Fulton County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (45 mi)
Sun versus wind in Otsego County
Otsego County gets 3.66 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,069 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 589. 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.