Wind Turbine Payback in Fayette County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Fayette 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 Fayette County, PA averages 3.8 m/s (8.5 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,614 kWh a year, worth $1,186 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 84 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Fayette County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Fayette County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.8 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,107 kWh a year here against the turbine's 561, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 89¢/kWh, 4.2 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.8. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Fayette County is the 2,206th 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 Fayette County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.79 m/s and about 949 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.73 m/s and 160 kWh, so the best month makes 5.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 63% of the year's output in Fayette County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.79 m/s | 949 kWh | $201 |
| February | 4.85 m/s | 886 kWh | $187 |
| March | 4.51 m/s | 798 kWh | $169 |
| April | 4.31 m/s | 675 kWh | $143 |
| May | 3.50 m/s | 368 kWh | $78 |
| June | 3.12 m/s | 243 kWh | $51 |
| July | 2.83 m/s | 181 kWh | $38 |
| August | 2.73 m/s | 160 kWh | $34 |
| September | 3.04 m/s | 225 kWh | $48 |
| October | 3.60 m/s | 401 kWh | $85 |
| November | 3.96 m/s | 526 kWh | $111 |
| December | 4.39 m/s | 737 kWh | $156 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Fayette County averages 2.44 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.67 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.403, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,327 to 10,382 kWh a year, 212% 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 | 3.23 m/s | 3,327 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.8 m/s | 5,619 kWh | 84 years |
| 40 m | 4.27 m/s | 7,999 kWh | 59 years |
| 50 m | 4.67 m/s | 10,382 kWh | 46 years |
Counties around Fayette County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Fayette County.
- Westmoreland County, PA: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (29 mi)
- Monongalia County, WV: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Preston County, WV: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Greene County, PA: 3.45 m/s, 4,133 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Garrett County, MD: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 89 years (32 mi)
- Somerset County, PA: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback 94 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Fayette County
Fayette County gets 3.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,107 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 561. 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.