Two years ago, dairy farmer Rich Doody and his brothers bought a 50-kilowatt wind turbine and installed it on their farm in upstate New York, reducing their energy bill by more than $15,000 a year. They were so happy with it that all three brothers decided to get turbines for their homes as well. 

Instead of buying the windmills, however, the brothers leased them from a company called United Wind. The leasing model that has greatly accelerated the spread of solar panels nationwide, via companies like Sungevity and Sunrun, is now doing the same for turbines.

"Electric rates always seem to be rising," Doody says. "As the years go by, the lease should become more attractive."

Conventional financing for small wind projects, which typically involve just one or a few turbines, can be hard to find. But even with a bank loan, a wind turbine can be too expensive to buy outright. A 10-kilowatt model—the size needed to power a typical residence—can cost up to $80,000 for equipment and installation, though government incentives can offset some of that. 

A lease arrangement, however, lets people harness wind energy without having to pay up front to install the equipment. Instead, lessees put zero or a small sum down and commit to paying a monthly fee, which is usually lower than their utility bill, for 20 years. At the end of that time, they can choose whether to continue the lease, buy the turbine, or have it removed altogether.

There are other obstacles to residential windpower. Most notably, wind turbines are quite large, so they're unlikely to become as widespread as solar panels, especially for typical single-family homes. (Doody's 120-foot turbine is located in a spot where it won't hit any houses if it falls.) 

After two decades, he says, "we'll have to see if technology has progressed to the point that it's worth putting in a different turbine. But I'll be in my 80s, so I probably won't care."