Wind Turbine Payback in St. Lawrence County, NY
Wind turbine payback in St. Lawrence 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 St. Lawrence County, NY averages 3.91 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,134 kWh a year, worth $1,795 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 56 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in St. Lawrence County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in St. Lawrence County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.91 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,048 kWh a year here against the turbine's 613, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 82¢/kWh, 2.8 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.91. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
St. Lawrence County is the 2,125th 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 St. Lawrence County
February is the strongest month here, at 4.75 m/s and about 835 kWh. August is the weakest, 3.20 m/s and 276 kWh, so the best month makes 3.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in St. Lawrence County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.54 m/s | 812 kWh | $238 |
| February | 4.75 m/s | 835 kWh | $244 |
| March | 4.56 m/s | 824 kWh | $241 |
| April | 4.28 m/s | 664 kWh | $194 |
| May | 3.64 m/s | 415 kWh | $121 |
| June | 3.31 m/s | 297 kWh | $87 |
| July | 3.23 m/s | 283 kWh | $83 |
| August | 3.20 m/s | 276 kWh | $81 |
| September | 3.39 m/s | 321 kWh | $94 |
| October | 3.77 m/s | 464 kWh | $136 |
| November | 4.05 m/s | 563 kWh | $165 |
| December | 4.18 m/s | 640 kWh | $187 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in St. Lawrence County averages 2.53 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.78 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.395, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,679 to 11,082 kWh a year, 201% 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 | 3.33 m/s | 3,679 kWh | 93 years |
| 30 m | 3.91 m/s | 6,117 kWh | 56 years |
| 40 m | 4.38 m/s | 8,613 kWh | 40 years |
| 50 m | 4.78 m/s | 11,082 kWh | 31 years |
Counties around St. Lawrence County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Jefferson County, averages 5.05 m/s.
- Franklin County, NY: 3.96 m/s, 6,378 kWh, payback 54 years (38 mi)
- Lewis County, NY: 4.03 m/s, 6,729 kWh, payback 51 years (52 mi)
- Jefferson County, NY: 5.05 m/s, 12,873 kWh, payback 27 years (59 mi)
- Hamilton County, NY: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback 59 years (64 mi)
- Herkimer County, NY: 3.83 m/s, 5,753 kWh, payback 59 years (64 mi)
- Essex County, NY: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 72 years (69 mi)
Sun versus wind in St. Lawrence County
St. Lawrence 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 613. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.