Wind Turbine Payback in Providence County, RI
Wind turbine payback in Providence 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 Providence County, RI averages 3.58 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,653 kWh a year, worth $1,352 at RI's 29.05¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 74 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Providence County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Providence County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.7 m/s at the hub against 3.58 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,165 kWh a year here against the turbine's 465, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 107¢/kWh, 3.7 times what RI pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.7 m/s instead of 3.58. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of RI
Providence County is the 2,429th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in RI is Bristol County at 5.04 m/s, payback 27 years.
Month by month in Providence County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.23 m/s and about 663 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.93 m/s and 203 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Providence County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.09 m/s | 598 kWh | $174 |
| February | 4.27 m/s | 616 kWh | $179 |
| March | 4.23 m/s | 663 kWh | $193 |
| April | 3.88 m/s | 494 kWh | $144 |
| May | 3.32 m/s | 309 kWh | $90 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 218 kWh | $63 |
| July | 2.93 m/s | 203 kWh | $59 |
| August | 2.94 m/s | 205 kWh | $60 |
| September | 3.13 m/s | 246 kWh | $71 |
| October | 3.58 m/s | 396 kWh | $115 |
| November | 3.74 m/s | 439 kWh | $128 |
| December | 3.90 m/s | 517 kWh | $150 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Providence County averages 2.19 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.5 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.447, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,565 to 9,339 kWh a year, 264% 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 | 2.99 m/s | 2,565 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.58 m/s | 4,658 kWh | 74 years |
| 40 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,949 kWh | 50 years |
| 50 m | 4.5 m/s | 9,339 kWh | 37 years |
Counties around Providence County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Bristol County, averages 5.04 m/s.
- Kent County, RI: 4.21 m/s, 7,678 kWh, payback 45 years (13 mi)
- Bristol County, RI: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 27 years (19 mi)
- Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback 78 years (20 mi)
- Bristol County, MA: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 26 years (27 mi)
- Norfolk County, MA: 3.88 m/s, 5,989 kWh, payback 55 years (29 mi)
- Newport County, RI: 5.04 m/s, 12,805 kWh, payback 27 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Providence County
Providence County gets 3.99 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,165 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 465. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.