Wind Turbine Payback in Aroostook County, ME
Wind turbine payback in Aroostook 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 Aroostook County, ME averages 3.9 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,085 kWh a year, worth $1,840 at ME's 30.23¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 54 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Aroostook County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Aroostook County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 3.9 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,013 kWh a year here against the turbine's 609, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 82¢/kWh, 2.7 times what ME pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 3.9. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ME
Aroostook County is the 2,136th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ME is Knox County at 6.26 m/s, payback 15 years.
Month by month in Aroostook County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.55 m/s and about 816 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.24 m/s and 287 kWh, so the best month makes 2.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Aroostook County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.33 m/s | 711 kWh | $215 |
| February | 4.59 m/s | 756 kWh | $229 |
| March | 4.55 m/s | 816 kWh | $247 |
| April | 4.30 m/s | 673 kWh | $203 |
| May | 3.70 m/s | 439 kWh | $133 |
| June | 3.45 m/s | 339 kWh | $102 |
| July | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $87 |
| August | 3.28 m/s | 299 kWh | $90 |
| September | 3.55 m/s | 373 kWh | $113 |
| October | 3.82 m/s | 485 kWh | $147 |
| November | 3.98 m/s | 534 kWh | $161 |
| December | 4.09 m/s | 598 kWh | $181 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Aroostook County averages 2.5 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.8 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.405, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,619 to 11,212 kWh a year, 210% 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 | 3.31 m/s | 3,619 kWh | 91 years |
| 30 m | 3.9 m/s | 6,099 kWh | 54 years |
| 40 m | 4.39 m/s | 8,663 kWh | 38 years |
| 50 m | 4.8 m/s | 11,212 kWh | 30 years |
Counties around Aroostook County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Hancock County, averages 4.76 m/s.
- Piscataquis County, ME: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 55 years (60 mi)
- Penobscot County, ME: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 72 years (90 mi)
- Somerset County, ME: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 54 years (105 mi)
- Washington County, ME: 4.11 m/s, 7,143 kWh, payback 46 years (130 mi)
- Franklin County, ME: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback 56 years (148 mi)
- Hancock County, ME: 4.76 m/s, 10,954 kWh, payback 30 years (149 mi)
Sun versus wind in Aroostook County
Aroostook County gets 3.47 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,013 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 609. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.7 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.