Wind Turbine Payback in Butler County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Butler 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 Butler County, PA averages 3.49 m/s (7.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,289 kWh a year, worth $906 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Butler County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Butler County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.49 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,086 kWh a year here against the turbine's 429, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 117¢/kWh, 5.5 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.49. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Butler County is the 2,519th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in PA is Philadelphia County at 4.74 m/s, payback 44 years.
Month by month in Butler County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.24 m/s and about 666 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.68 m/s and 149 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Butler County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.24 m/s | 666 kWh | $141 |
| February | 4.29 m/s | 622 kWh | $131 |
| March | 4.06 m/s | 586 kWh | $124 |
| April | 3.93 m/s | 511 kWh | $108 |
| May | 3.26 m/s | 291 kWh | $61 |
| June | 2.96 m/s | 205 kWh | $43 |
| July | 2.71 m/s | 154 kWh | $33 |
| August | 2.68 m/s | 149 kWh | $31 |
| September | 2.91 m/s | 192 kWh | $41 |
| October | 3.39 m/s | 333 kWh | $70 |
| November | 3.64 m/s | 403 kWh | $85 |
| December | 3.87 m/s | 505 kWh | $107 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Butler County averages 2.15 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.37 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.441, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,363 to 8,575 kWh a year, 263% 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 | 2.92 m/s | 2,363 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.49 m/s | 4,283 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.96 m/s | 6,380 kWh | 74 years |
| 50 m | 4.37 m/s | 8,575 kWh | 55 years |
Counties around Butler County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Mercer County, averages 3.66 m/s.
- Lawrence County, PA: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Armstrong County, PA: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Beaver County, PA: 3.44 m/s, 4,094 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Allegheny County, PA: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Mercer County, PA: 3.66 m/s, 4,991 kWh, payback 95 years (32 mi)
- Clarion County, PA: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Butler County
Butler County gets 3.72 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,086 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 429. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.