Wind Turbine Payback in Windham County, VT
Wind turbine payback in Windham 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 Windham County, VT averages 3.64 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,905 kWh a year, worth $1,174 at VT's 23.93¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 85 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Windham County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Windham County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.2 m/s at the hub against 3.64 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,104 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, 4.3 times what VT pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.2 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 VT
Windham 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 VT is Franklin County at 3.97 m/s, payback 65 years.
Month by month in Windham County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.37 m/s and about 730 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.88 m/s and 192 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Windham County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.29 m/s | 691 kWh | $165 |
| February | 4.52 m/s | 725 kWh | $173 |
| March | 4.37 m/s | 730 kWh | $175 |
| April | 4.04 m/s | 556 kWh | $133 |
| May | 3.40 m/s | 335 kWh | $80 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 227 kWh | $54 |
| July | 2.90 m/s | 197 kWh | $47 |
| August | 2.88 m/s | 192 kWh | $46 |
| September | 3.08 m/s | 234 kWh | $56 |
| October | 3.51 m/s | 372 kWh | $89 |
| November | 3.72 m/s | 433 kWh | $104 |
| December | 4.01 m/s | 564 kWh | $135 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Windham County averages 2.28 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.53 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.427, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,792 to 9,519 kWh a year, 241% 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 | 3.06 m/s | 2,792 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.64 m/s | 4,914 kWh | 85 years |
| 40 m | 4.12 m/s | 7,186 kWh | 58 years |
| 50 m | 4.53 m/s | 9,519 kWh | 44 years |
Counties around Windham County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Windham County.
- Bennington County, VT: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback 97 years (20 mi)
- Cheshire County, NH: 3.64 m/s, 4,905 kWh, payback 76 years (24 mi)
- Franklin County, MA: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback 71 years (29 mi)
- Sullivan County, NH: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback 80 years (36 mi)
- Windsor County, VT: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback 90 years (40 mi)
- Washington County, NY: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback 84 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Windham County
Windham County gets 3.78 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,104 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.