Wind Turbine Payback in Saratoga County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Saratoga 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 Saratoga County, NY averages 3.31 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,612 kWh a year, worth $1,057 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 95 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Saratoga County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Saratoga County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.31 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,066 kWh a year here against the turbine's 361, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 138¢/kWh, 4.7 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.31. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Saratoga County is the 2,729th 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 Saratoga County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.00 m/s and about 557 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.60 m/s and 132 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Saratoga County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.85 m/s | 495 kWh | $145 |
| February | 4.06 m/s | 528 kWh | $154 |
| March | 4.00 m/s | 557 kWh | $163 |
| April | 3.74 m/s | 440 kWh | $129 |
| May | 3.15 m/s | 259 kWh | $76 |
| June | 2.79 m/s | 167 kWh | $49 |
| July | 2.62 m/s | 137 kWh | $40 |
| August | 2.60 m/s | 132 kWh | $39 |
| September | 2.78 m/s | 164 kWh | $48 |
| October | 3.19 m/s | 272 kWh | $80 |
| November | 3.40 m/s | 324 kWh | $95 |
| December | 3.61 m/s | 405 kWh | $119 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Saratoga County averages 2.03 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.16 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.446, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,956 to 7,408 kWh a year, 279% 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 | 2.76 m/s | 1,956 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.31 m/s | 3,621 kWh | 94 years |
| 40 m | 3.77 m/s | 5,459 kWh | 63 years |
| 50 m | 4.16 m/s | 7,408 kWh | 46 years |
Counties around Saratoga County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Fulton County, averages 3.61 m/s.
- Schenectady County, NY: 3.31 m/s, 3,612 kWh, payback 95 years (22 mi)
- Washington County, NY: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback 84 years (25 mi)
- Fulton County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (29 mi)
- Warren County, NY: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback 84 years (31 mi)
- Rensselaer County, NY: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 74 years (32 mi)
- Montgomery County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Saratoga County
Saratoga County gets 3.65 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,066 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 361. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.0 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.