Wind Turbine Payback in Aleutians East Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Aleutians East Borough
Only just. The money comes back late in the turbine's life.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Aleutians East Borough, AK averages 7.73 m/s (17.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 32,079 kWh a year, worth $8,764 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 11 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Aleutians East Borough
It is close enough that your own site decides it. If you have open land with no trees or buildings upwind, ask an installer to log the wind at 30 m or higher; anything above 5.8 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 724 kWh a year here against the turbine's 3,208, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 16¢/kWh and AK pays 27.32¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 5.8 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of AK
Aleutians East Borough is the 4th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in AK is Aleutians West Census Area at 9.35 m/s, payback 9 years.
Month by month in Aleutians East Borough
December is the strongest month here, at 9.23 m/s and about 3,473 kWh. July is the weakest, 5.55 m/s and 1,393 kWh, so the best month makes 2.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in Aleutians East Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.70 m/s | 3,233 kWh | $883 |
| February | 8.74 m/s | 2,936 kWh | $802 |
| March | 8.05 m/s | 2,901 kWh | $793 |
| April | 7.79 m/s | 2,668 kWh | $729 |
| May | 6.60 m/s | 2,049 kWh | $560 |
| June | 5.88 m/s | 1,547 kWh | $423 |
| July | 5.55 m/s | 1,393 kWh | $381 |
| August | 6.25 m/s | 1,830 kWh | $500 |
| September | 7.79 m/s | 2,668 kWh | $729 |
| October | 8.81 m/s | 3,282 kWh | $897 |
| November | 9.44 m/s | 3,446 kWh | $941 |
| December | 9.23 m/s | 3,473 kWh | $949 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Aleutians East Borough averages 6.83 m/s; at 50 m it is 8.19 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.113, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 29,744 to 35,024 kWh a year, 18% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 7.38 m/s | 29,744 kWh | 12 years |
| 30 m | 7.73 m/s | 32,083 kWh | 11 years |
| 40 m | 7.99 m/s | 33,743 kWh | 11 years |
| 50 m | 8.19 m/s | 35,024 kWh | 11 years |
Counties around Aleutians East Borough
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Aleutians East Borough.
- Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 16 years (290 mi)
- Bristol Bay Borough, AK: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 17 years (306 mi)
- Dillingham Census Area, AK: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 18 years (328 mi)
- Kodiak Island Borough, AK: 5.87 m/s, 18,742 kWh, payback 20 years (352 mi)
- Bethel Census Area, AK: 5.27 m/s, 14,397 kWh, payback 25 years (398 mi)
- Kusilvak Census Area, AK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 17 years (488 mi)
Sun versus wind in Aleutians East Borough
Aleutians East Borough gets 2.48 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 724 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 3,208. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 4.4 times. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio.
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.