Wind Turbine Payback in Chester County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Chester 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 Chester County, PA averages 3.92 m/s (8.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,182 kWh a year, worth $1,306 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 77 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Chester County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Chester County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.92 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,188 kWh a year here against the turbine's 618, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 81¢/kWh, 3.8 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.92. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Chester County is the 2,118th 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 Chester County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.66 m/s and about 878 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.97 m/s and 214 kWh, so the best month makes 4.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Chester County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.58 m/s | 835 kWh | $176 |
| February | 4.74 m/s | 832 kWh | $176 |
| March | 4.66 m/s | 878 kWh | $186 |
| April | 4.40 m/s | 720 kWh | $152 |
| May | 3.65 m/s | 419 kWh | $89 |
| June | 3.35 m/s | 308 kWh | $65 |
| July | 3.06 m/s | 237 kWh | $50 |
| August | 2.97 m/s | 214 kWh | $45 |
| September | 3.32 m/s | 301 kWh | $64 |
| October | 3.87 m/s | 506 kWh | $107 |
| November | 4.13 m/s | 598 kWh | $126 |
| December | 4.36 m/s | 724 kWh | $153 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Chester County averages 2.51 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.83 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.407, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,672 to 11,407 kWh a year, 211% 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 | 3.33 m/s | 3,672 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.92 m/s | 6,198 kWh | 76 years |
| 40 m | 4.41 m/s | 8,810 kWh | 54 years |
| 50 m | 4.83 m/s | 11,407 kWh | 42 years |
Counties around Chester County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, New Castle County, averages 5.23 m/s.
- Delaware County, PA: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 77 years (19 mi)
- Montgomery County, PA: 3.92 m/s, 6,182 kWh, payback 77 years (26 mi)
- Lancaster County, PA: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback 65 years (27 mi)
- New Castle County, DE: 5.23 m/s, 14,116 kWh, payback 39 years (28 mi)
- Cecil County, MD: 4.83 m/s, 11,407 kWh, payback 41 years (30 mi)
- Berks County, PA: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback 98 years (32 mi)
Sun versus wind in Chester County
Chester County gets 4.07 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,188 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 618. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.