Wind Turbine Payback in Lincoln County, ME
Wind turbine payback in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, ME averages 4.86 m/s (10.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,603 kWh a year, worth $3,508 at ME's 30.23¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 29 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Lincoln County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Lincoln County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.6 m/s at the hub against 4.86 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,113 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,160, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 43¢/kWh, 1.4 times what ME pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.6 m/s instead of 4.86. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of ME
Lincoln County is the 1,528th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in ME is Knox County at 6.26 m/s, payback 15 years.
Month by month in Lincoln County
January is the strongest month here, at 5.92 m/s and about 1,622 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.62 m/s and 408 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 61% of the year's output in Lincoln County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.92 m/s | 1,622 kWh | $490 |
| February | 6.05 m/s | 1,541 kWh | $466 |
| March | 5.83 m/s | 1,567 kWh | $474 |
| April | 5.07 m/s | 1,072 kWh | $324 |
| May | 4.25 m/s | 670 kWh | $203 |
| June | 3.87 m/s | 487 kWh | $147 |
| July | 3.62 m/s | 408 kWh | $123 |
| August | 3.71 m/s | 441 kWh | $133 |
| September | 4.14 m/s | 601 kWh | $182 |
| October | 4.94 m/s | 1,031 kWh | $312 |
| November | 5.33 m/s | 1,219 kWh | $369 |
| December | 5.68 m/s | 1,472 kWh | $445 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Lincoln County averages 3.77 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.47 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.231, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,903 to 15,821 kWh a year, 78% 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 | 4.43 m/s | 8,903 kWh | 37 years |
| 30 m | 4.86 m/s | 11,610 kWh | 29 years |
| 40 m | 5.2 m/s | 13,873 kWh | 24 years |
| 50 m | 5.47 m/s | 15,821 kWh | 21 years |
Counties around Lincoln County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Knox County, averages 6.26 m/s.
- Sagadahoc County, ME: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback 67 years (17 mi)
- Knox County, ME: 6.26 m/s, 21,632 kWh, payback 15 years (24 mi)
- Kennebec County, ME: 3.51 m/s, 4,368 kWh, payback 76 years (32 mi)
- Androscoggin County, ME: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback 67 years (36 mi)
- Waldo County, ME: 3.48 m/s, 4,250 kWh, payback 78 years (39 mi)
- Cumberland County, ME: 3.5 m/s, 4,329 kWh, payback 76 years (43 mi)
Sun versus wind in Lincoln County
Lincoln County gets 3.81 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,113 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,160. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.0 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.