Wind Turbine Payback in Worcester County, MA
Wind turbine payback in Worcester 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 Worcester County, MA averages 3.56 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,570 kWh a year, worth $1,380 at MA's 30.19¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 73 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Worcester County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Worcester County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.56 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,113 kWh a year here against the turbine's 457, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 109¢/kWh, 3.6 times what MA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.56. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of MA
Worcester County is the 2,451st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in MA is Barnstable County at 8.21 m/s, payback 9 years.
Month by month in Worcester County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.23 m/s and about 662 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.90 m/s and 196 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Worcester County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.10 m/s | 604 kWh | $182 |
| February | 4.30 m/s | 625 kWh | $189 |
| March | 4.23 m/s | 662 kWh | $200 |
| April | 3.89 m/s | 496 kWh | $150 |
| May | 3.32 m/s | 309 kWh | $93 |
| June | 3.01 m/s | 215 kWh | $65 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 199 kWh | $60 |
| August | 2.90 m/s | 196 kWh | $59 |
| September | 3.09 m/s | 237 kWh | $72 |
| October | 3.52 m/s | 376 kWh | $114 |
| November | 3.67 m/s | 413 kWh | $125 |
| December | 3.85 m/s | 497 kWh | $150 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Worcester County averages 2.18 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.48 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.448, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,518 to 9,219 kWh a year, 266% 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 | 2.97 m/s | 2,518 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.56 m/s | 4,585 kWh | 72 years |
| 40 m | 4.05 m/s | 6,851 kWh | 48 years |
| 50 m | 4.48 m/s | 9,219 kWh | 36 years |
Counties around Worcester County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Middlesex County, averages 3.87 m/s.
- Middlesex County, MA: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback 56 years (30 mi)
- Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback 78 years (32 mi)
- Providence County, RI: 3.58 m/s, 4,653 kWh, payback 74 years (36 mi)
- Hampshire County, MA: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback 71 years (37 mi)
- Hampden County, MA: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback 75 years (38 mi)
- Franklin County, MA: 3.59 m/s, 4,694 kWh, payback 71 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Worcester County
Worcester County gets 3.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,113 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 457. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.