The performance of wind turbines in New England showing that the economic life of onshore wind turbines is between 3 and 5 years, not the 20 to 25 years projected by the wind industry itself, and used for government projections.

You only need to look at statistical analysis to years of actual wind turbine performance data from wind at three locations the Portsmouth High School,Rhode Island ,Princeton, Massachusetts and Otis ANG base Cape Cod.

The average load factor of wind turbines declines substantially as they get older, probably due to wear and tear and gear box failure. By 5 years of age the contribution of an average New England wind turbine to meeting electricity demand has declined by a third or more.

Many of the gear box driven megawatt turbines installed after 2008 will need expensive gear box replacements every 3 to 5 years. This means that it is rarely economic to operate a wind turbine for more than 6 to 10 years. After 10 years they must be replaced with a new turbine.

Many investors,private owners and cities and towns expecting a return on their investment over 20-25 years will be very disappointed. The gear box failures and the costs of a special crane to lift the gear boxes in and out contribute to the massive repair costs.