Wind Turbine Payback in Clearfield County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Clearfield 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 Clearfield County, PA averages 3.7 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,164 kWh a year, worth $1,091 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 92 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Clearfield County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Clearfield County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.7 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,057 kWh a year here against the turbine's 516, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 97¢/kWh, 4.6 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.7. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Clearfield County is the 2,288th 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 Clearfield County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.68 m/s and about 889 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.75 m/s and 164 kWh, so the best month makes 5.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 63% of the year's output in Clearfield County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.68 m/s | 889 kWh | $188 |
| February | 4.72 m/s | 819 kWh | $173 |
| March | 4.36 m/s | 724 kWh | $153 |
| April | 4.14 m/s | 599 kWh | $127 |
| May | 3.40 m/s | 336 kWh | $71 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 228 kWh | $48 |
| July | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $37 |
| August | 2.75 m/s | 164 kWh | $35 |
| September | 2.97 m/s | 207 kWh | $44 |
| October | 3.51 m/s | 371 kWh | $78 |
| November | 3.86 m/s | 486 kWh | $103 |
| December | 4.27 m/s | 678 kWh | $143 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Clearfield County averages 2.32 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.6 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.425, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,958 to 9,947 kWh a year, 236% 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 | 3.12 m/s | 2,958 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.7 m/s | 5,175 kWh | 92 years |
| 40 m | 4.18 m/s | 7,536 kWh | 63 years |
| 50 m | 4.6 m/s | 9,947 kWh | 48 years |
Counties around Clearfield County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Elk County, averages 3.75 m/s.
- Jefferson County, PA: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback 92 years (29 mi)
- Elk County, PA: 3.75 m/s, 5,387 kWh, payback 88 years (30 mi)
- Cameron County, PA: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback 91 years (33 mi)
- Centre County, PA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback 100 years (34 mi)
- Blair County, PA: 3.52 m/s, 4,408 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Cambria County, PA: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 89 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Clearfield County
Clearfield County gets 3.62 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,057 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 516. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.0 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.