Wind Turbine Payback in Dauphin County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County, PA averages 3.61 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,778 kWh a year, worth $1,010 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 99 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Dauphin County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Dauphin County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.61 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,127 kWh a year here against the turbine's 478, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 105¢/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 3.61. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Dauphin County is the 2,382nd 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 Dauphin County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.32 m/s and about 705 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.75 m/s and 162 kWh, so the best month makes 4.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Dauphin County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.29 m/s | 689 kWh | $146 |
| February | 4.40 m/s | 672 kWh | $142 |
| March | 4.32 m/s | 705 kWh | $149 |
| April | 4.07 m/s | 570 kWh | $120 |
| May | 3.37 m/s | 326 kWh | $69 |
| June | 3.09 m/s | 235 kWh | $50 |
| July | 2.82 m/s | 178 kWh | $38 |
| August | 2.75 m/s | 162 kWh | $34 |
| September | 3.03 m/s | 221 kWh | $47 |
| October | 3.49 m/s | 365 kWh | $77 |
| November | 3.76 m/s | 447 kWh | $94 |
| December | 4.00 m/s | 557 kWh | $118 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dauphin County averages 2.31 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.45 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 2,797 to 9,041 kWh a year, 223% 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 | 3.06 m/s | 2,797 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.61 m/s | 4,797 kWh | 99 years |
| 40 m | 4.06 m/s | 6,901 kWh | 69 years |
| 50 m | 4.45 m/s | 9,041 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Dauphin County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cumberland County, averages 3.99 m/s.
- Lebanon County, PA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback 100 years (17 mi)
- Perry County, PA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Snyder County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Cumberland County, PA: 3.99 m/s, 6,527 kWh, payback 73 years (30 mi)
- Northumberland County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Juniata County, PA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dauphin County
Dauphin County gets 3.86 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,127 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 478. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.