Wind Turbine Payback in Centre County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Centre 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 Centre County, PA averages 3.6 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,736 kWh a year, worth $1,001 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Centre County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Centre County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.6 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,110 kWh a year here against the turbine's 474, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 106¢/kWh, 5.0 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.6. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Centre County is the 2,402nd 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 Centre County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.49 m/s and about 788 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.70 m/s and 152 kWh, so the best month makes 5.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 63% of the year's output in Centre County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.49 m/s | 788 kWh | $167 |
| February | 4.55 m/s | 738 kWh | $156 |
| March | 4.27 m/s | 678 kWh | $143 |
| April | 4.03 m/s | 551 kWh | $116 |
| May | 3.32 m/s | 310 kWh | $66 |
| June | 2.99 m/s | 212 kWh | $45 |
| July | 2.78 m/s | 169 kWh | $36 |
| August | 2.70 m/s | 152 kWh | $32 |
| September | 2.91 m/s | 193 kWh | $41 |
| October | 3.41 m/s | 338 kWh | $71 |
| November | 3.73 m/s | 435 kWh | $92 |
| December | 4.10 m/s | 601 kWh | $127 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Centre County averages 2.23 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.5 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.436, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,654 to 9,339 kWh a year, 252% 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 | 3.02 m/s | 2,654 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.6 m/s | 4,742 kWh | 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.08 m/s | 7,001 kWh | 68 years |
| 50 m | 4.5 m/s | 9,339 kWh | 51 years |
Counties around Centre County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Clearfield County, averages 3.7 m/s.
- Mifflin County, PA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Clinton County, PA: 3.42 m/s, 4,018 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Clearfield County, PA: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback 92 years (34 mi)
- Huntingdon County, PA: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Juniata County, PA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (35 mi)
- Blair County, PA: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Centre County
Centre County gets 3.8 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,110 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 474. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.