Wind Turbine Payback in Aleutians West Census Area, AK
Wind turbine payback in Aleutians West Census Area
Yes. A small turbine pays for itself here.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Aleutians West Census Area, AK averages 9.35 m/s (20.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 41,487 kWh a year, worth $11,334 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 9 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Aleutians West Census Area
The numbers work, so the next step is proof. Before you buy, get a site assessment that logs wind at your actual tower spot for a few months, and check your county's zoning for tower height limits. If the logger reads below 5.8 m/s, walk away.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 12¢/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 West Census Area is the 1st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. It is the windiest county in AK.
Month by month in Aleutians West Census Area
December is the strongest month here, at 11.16 m/s and about 4,116 kWh. July is the weakest, 6.94 m/s and 2,257 kWh, so the best month makes 1.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 48% of the year's output in Aleutians West Census Area.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10.25 m/s | 3,859 kWh | $1,054 |
| February | 11.05 m/s | 3,695 kWh | $1,009 |
| March | 10.10 m/s | 3,811 kWh | $1,041 |
| April | 9.63 m/s | 3,519 kWh | $961 |
| May | 8.26 m/s | 3,013 kWh | $823 |
| June | 7.25 m/s | 2,367 kWh | $647 |
| July | 6.94 m/s | 2,257 kWh | $617 |
| August | 7.50 m/s | 2,591 kWh | $708 |
| September | 9.04 m/s | 3,281 kWh | $896 |
| October | 10.11 m/s | 3,814 kWh | $1,042 |
| November | 11.07 m/s | 3,964 kWh | $1,083 |
| December | 11.16 m/s | 4,116 kWh | $1,124 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Aleutians West Census Area averages 8.35 m/s; at 50 m it is 9.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.103, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 39,543 to 43,847 kWh a year, 11% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 8.97 m/s | 39,543 kWh | 9 years |
| 30 m | 9.35 m/s | 41,510 kWh | 9 years |
| 40 m | 9.64 m/s | 42,848 kWh | 9 years |
| 50 m | 9.86 m/s | 43,847 kWh | 8 years |
Counties around Aleutians West Census Area
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Aleutians West Census Area.
- Aleutians East Borough, AK: 7.73 m/s, 32,079 kWh, payback 11 years (785 mi)
- Kusilvak Census Area, AK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 17 years (956 mi)
- Bethel Census Area, AK: 5.27 m/s, 14,397 kWh, payback 25 years (984 mi)
- Dillingham Census Area, AK: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 18 years (1000 mi)
- Bristol Bay Borough, AK: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 17 years (1024 mi)
- Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 16 years (1033 mi)
Sun versus wind in Aleutians West Census Area
Aleutians West Census Area gets 2.39 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 698 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 4,149. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 5.9 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.