Wind Turbine Payback in Sullivan County, NY
Wind turbine payback in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County, NY averages 3.64 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,905 kWh a year, worth $1,435 at NY's 29.26¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 70 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sullivan County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Sullivan County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.64 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,101 kWh a year here against the turbine's 491, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 102¢/kWh, 3.5 times what NY pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.64. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of NY
Sullivan County is the 2,346th 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 Sullivan County
February is the strongest month here, at 4.61 m/s and about 768 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.80 m/s and 174 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Sullivan County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.43 m/s | 757 kWh | $221 |
| February | 4.61 m/s | 768 kWh | $225 |
| March | 4.40 m/s | 745 kWh | $218 |
| April | 4.01 m/s | 543 kWh | $159 |
| May | 3.31 m/s | 308 kWh | $90 |
| June | 3.02 m/s | 218 kWh | $64 |
| July | 2.85 m/s | 185 kWh | $54 |
| August | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $51 |
| September | 3.02 m/s | 218 kWh | $64 |
| October | 3.47 m/s | 358 kWh | $105 |
| November | 3.75 m/s | 443 kWh | $130 |
| December | 4.09 m/s | 599 kWh | $175 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sullivan County averages 2.23 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.57 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 2,712 to 9,763 kWh a year, 260% 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 | 3.04 m/s | 2,712 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.64 m/s | 4,900 kWh | 70 years |
| 40 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,286 kWh | 47 years |
| 50 m | 4.57 m/s | 9,763 kWh | 35 years |
Counties around Sullivan County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Delaware County, averages 3.77 m/s.
- Wayne County, PA: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback 97 years (27 mi)
- Pike County, PA: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback 97 years (30 mi)
- Ulster County, NY: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 65 years (30 mi)
- Orange County, NY: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback 81 years (33 mi)
- Delaware County, NY: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback 62 years (34 mi)
- Sussex County, NJ: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback 92 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sullivan County
Sullivan County gets 3.77 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,101 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 491. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.