Wind Turbine Payback in Denali Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Denali Borough
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Denali Borough, AK averages 4.06 m/s (9.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,883 kWh a year, worth $1,880 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 53 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Denali Borough
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Denali Borough unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 4.06 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 739 kWh a year here against the turbine's 688, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 73¢/kWh, 2.7 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 4.06. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Denali Borough is the 2,021st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in AK is Aleutians West Census Area at 9.35 m/s, payback 9 years.
Month by month in Denali Borough
December is the strongest month here, at 5.02 m/s and about 1,075 kWh. June is the weakest, 3.22 m/s and 270 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Denali Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.78 m/s | 942 kWh | $257 |
| February | 5.14 m/s | 1,037 kWh | $283 |
| March | 3.84 m/s | 493 kWh | $135 |
| April | 3.75 m/s | 443 kWh | $121 |
| May | 3.46 m/s | 354 kWh | $97 |
| June | 3.22 m/s | 270 kWh | $74 |
| July | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $88 |
| August | 3.49 m/s | 363 kWh | $99 |
| September | 3.89 m/s | 494 kWh | $135 |
| October | 4.21 m/s | 653 kWh | $178 |
| November | 4.66 m/s | 846 kWh | $231 |
| December | 5.02 m/s | 1,075 kWh | $294 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Denali Borough averages 3.28 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.48 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.194, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 5,389 to 9,219 kWh a year, 71% 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 | 3.75 m/s | 5,389 kWh | 68 years |
| 30 m | 4.06 m/s | 6,869 kWh | 53 years |
| 40 m | 4.29 m/s | 8,121 kWh | 45 years |
| 50 m | 4.48 m/s | 9,219 kWh | 40 years |
Counties around Denali Borough
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, averages 5.2 m/s.
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 39 years (99 mi)
- Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK: 5.2 m/s, 13,907 kWh, payback 26 years (126 mi)
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (126 mi)
- Anchorage Municipality, AK: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback 85 years (175 mi)
- Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK: 2.93 m/s, 2,398 kWh, payback over 100 years (208 mi)
- Copper River Census Area, AK: 2.86 m/s, 2,205 kWh, payback over 100 years (223 mi)
Sun versus wind in Denali Borough
Denali Borough gets 2.53 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 739 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 688. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.1 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.