Wind Turbine Payback in Lebanon County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Lebanon 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 Lebanon County, PA averages 3.6 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,736 kWh a year, worth $1,001 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lebanon County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lebanon County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.6 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,127 kWh a year here against the turbine's 474, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 106¢/kWh, 5.0 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.6. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Lebanon County is the 2,402nd 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 Lebanon County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.32 m/s and about 706 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.72 m/s and 158 kWh, so the best month makes 4.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Lebanon County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.26 m/s | 675 kWh | $143 |
| February | 4.40 m/s | 673 kWh | $142 |
| March | 4.32 m/s | 706 kWh | $149 |
| April | 4.06 m/s | 565 kWh | $119 |
| May | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $68 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 229 kWh | $48 |
| July | 2.79 m/s | 171 kWh | $36 |
| August | 2.72 m/s | 158 kWh | $33 |
| September | 3.01 m/s | 217 kWh | $46 |
| October | 3.48 m/s | 361 kWh | $76 |
| November | 3.75 m/s | 444 kWh | $94 |
| December | 4.00 m/s | 559 kWh | $118 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lebanon County averages 2.25 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.48 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.428, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,680 to 9,219 kWh a year, 244% 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 | 3.03 m/s | 2,680 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.6 m/s | 4,737 kWh | 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.07 m/s | 6,944 kWh | 68 years |
| 50 m | 4.48 m/s | 9,219 kWh | 51 years |
Counties around Lebanon County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, York County, averages 4.25 m/s.
- Dauphin County, PA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 99 years (17 mi)
- Lancaster County, PA: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback 65 years (25 mi)
- Schuylkill County, PA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback 100 years (26 mi)
- Berks County, PA: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback 98 years (28 mi)
- York County, PA: 4.25 m/s, 7,897 kWh, payback 60 years (34 mi)
- Northumberland County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lebanon County
Lebanon County gets 3.86 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,127 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 474. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 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.