Wind Turbine Payback in Kusilvak Census Area, AK
Wind turbine payback in Kusilvak 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 Kusilvak Census Area, AK averages 6.25 m/s (14 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 21,558 kWh a year, worth $5,890 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 17 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Kusilvak 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 721 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,156, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 23¢/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
Kusilvak Census Area is the 528th 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 Kusilvak Census Area
January is the strongest month here, at 7.87 m/s and about 2,803 kWh. June is the weakest, 4.66 m/s and 848 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Kusilvak Census Area.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.87 m/s | 2,803 kWh | $766 |
| February | 7.96 m/s | 2,576 kWh | $704 |
| March | 6.83 m/s | 2,193 kWh | $599 |
| April | 6.17 m/s | 1,723 kWh | $471 |
| May | 5.18 m/s | 1,172 kWh | $320 |
| June | 4.66 m/s | 848 kWh | $232 |
| July | 4.81 m/s | 959 kWh | $262 |
| August | 5.08 m/s | 1,108 kWh | $303 |
| September | 5.75 m/s | 1,470 kWh | $402 |
| October | 6.32 m/s | 1,878 kWh | $513 |
| November | 7.05 m/s | 2,251 kWh | $615 |
| December | 7.49 m/s | 2,588 kWh | $707 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Kusilvak Census Area averages 5.04 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.91 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.196, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 18,035 to 26,397 kWh a year, 46% 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 | 5.77 m/s | 18,035 kWh | 20 years |
| 30 m | 6.25 m/s | 21,571 kWh | 17 years |
| 40 m | 6.61 m/s | 24,247 kWh | 15 years |
| 50 m | 6.91 m/s | 26,397 kWh | 14 years |
Counties around Kusilvak Census Area
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lake and Peninsula Borough, averages 6.45 m/s.
- Bethel Census Area, AK: 5.27 m/s, 14,397 kWh, payback 25 years (137 mi)
- Nome Census Area, AK: 5.74 m/s, 17,785 kWh, payback 21 years (175 mi)
- Dillingham Census Area, AK: 6.07 m/s, 20,223 kWh, payback 18 years (251 mi)
- Bristol Bay Borough, AK: 6.2 m/s, 21,187 kWh, payback 17 years (323 mi)
- Northwest Arctic Borough, AK: 5.52 m/s, 16,181 kWh, payback 23 years (339 mi)
- Lake and Peninsula Borough, AK: 6.45 m/s, 23,038 kWh, payback 16 years (370 mi)
Sun versus wind in Kusilvak Census Area
Kusilvak Census Area gets 2.47 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 721 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,156. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 3.0 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.