Wind Turbine Payback in Dillingham Census Area, AK
Wind turbine payback in Dillingham Census Area
Only just. The money comes back late in the turbine's life.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Dillingham Census Area, AK averages 6.07 m/s (13.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 20,223 kWh a year, worth $5,525 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 18 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Dillingham Census Area
It is close enough that your own site decides it. If you have open land with no trees or buildings upwind, ask an installer to log the wind at 30 m or higher; anything above 5.8 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 753 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,022, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 25¢/kWh and AK pays 27.32¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 5.8 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of AK
Dillingham Census Area is the 717th 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 Dillingham Census Area
January is the strongest month here, at 7.71 m/s and about 2,714 kWh. June is the weakest, 4.39 m/s and 715 kWh, so the best month makes 3.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Dillingham Census Area.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.71 m/s | 2,714 kWh | $741 |
| February | 7.39 m/s | 2,283 kWh | $624 |
| March | 6.86 m/s | 2,214 kWh | $605 |
| April | 5.99 m/s | 1,613 kWh | $441 |
| May | 5.21 m/s | 1,189 kWh | $325 |
| June | 4.39 m/s | 715 kWh | $195 |
| July | 4.55 m/s | 817 kWh | $223 |
| August | 4.81 m/s | 956 kWh | $261 |
| September | 5.72 m/s | 1,449 kWh | $396 |
| October | 6.30 m/s | 1,860 kWh | $508 |
| November | 6.76 m/s | 2,083 kWh | $569 |
| December | 7.18 m/s | 2,405 kWh | $657 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Dillingham Census Area averages 4.86 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.73 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.202, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 16,709 to 25,093 kWh a year, 50% 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 | 5.59 m/s | 16,709 kWh | 22 years |
| 30 m | 6.07 m/s | 20,224 kWh | 18 years |
| 40 m | 6.43 m/s | 22,916 kWh | 16 years |
| 50 m | 6.73 m/s | 25,093 kWh | 15 years |
Counties around Dillingham Census Area
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lake and Peninsula Borough, averages 6.45 m/s.
- Bristol Bay Borough, AK: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 17 years (72 mi)
- Bethel Census Area, AK: 5.27 m/s, 14,397 kWh, payback 25 years (116 mi)
- Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 16 years (119 mi)
- Kodiak Island Borough, AK: 5.87 m/s, 18,742 kWh, payback 20 years (201 mi)
- Kenai Peninsula Borough, AK: 3.87 m/s, 5,942 kWh, payback 62 years (213 mi)
- Kusilvak Census Area, AK: 6.25 m/s, 21,558 kWh, payback 17 years (251 mi)
Sun versus wind in Dillingham Census Area
Dillingham Census Area gets 2.58 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 753 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,022. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 2.7 times. 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.