Wind Turbine Payback in Juneau City and Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Juneau City and 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 Juneau City and Borough, AK averages 3.89 m/s (8.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,037 kWh a year, worth $1,649 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 61 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Juneau City and Borough
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Juneau City and Borough unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 3.89 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 695 kWh a year here against the turbine's 604, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 83¢/kWh, 3.0 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 3.89. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Juneau City and Borough is the 2,141st 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 Juneau City and Borough
January is the strongest month here, at 5.44 m/s and about 1,324 kWh. June is the weakest, 2.39 m/s and 93 kWh, so the best month makes 14.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 75% of the year's output in Juneau City and Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.44 m/s | 1,324 kWh | $362 |
| February | 4.78 m/s | 851 kWh | $232 |
| March | 4.81 m/s | 957 kWh | $261 |
| April | 3.34 m/s | 305 kWh | $83 |
| May | 2.70 m/s | 153 kWh | $42 |
| June | 2.39 m/s | 93 kWh | $25 |
| July | 2.49 m/s | 113 kWh | $31 |
| August | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $48 |
| September | 3.52 m/s | 364 kWh | $99 |
| October | 4.11 m/s | 605 kWh | $165 |
| November | 5.11 m/s | 1,094 kWh | $299 |
| December | 5.26 m/s | 1,218 kWh | $333 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Juneau City and Borough averages 3.29 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.21 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.153, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,987 to 7,678 kWh a year, 54% 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 | 3.66 m/s | 4,987 kWh | 73 years |
| 30 m | 3.89 m/s | 6,054 kWh | 61 years |
| 40 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,927 kWh | 53 years |
| 50 m | 4.21 m/s | 7,678 kWh | 48 years |
Counties around Juneau City and Borough
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sitka City and Borough, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK: 4.48 m/s, 9,219 kWh, payback 40 years (62 mi)
- Haines Borough, AK: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback 67 years (71 mi)
- Skagway Municipality, AK: 2.81 m/s, 2,073 kWh, payback over 100 years (92 mi)
- Sitka City and Borough, AK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 16 years (93 mi)
- Petersburg Borough, AK: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 57 years (97 mi)
- Wrangell City and Borough, AK: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 79 years (171 mi)
Sun versus wind in Juneau City and Borough
Juneau City and Borough gets 2.38 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 695 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 604. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.