Wind Turbine Payback in Montour County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Montour 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 Montour County, PA averages 3.38 m/s (7.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,868 kWh a year, worth $817 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Montour County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Montour County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.38 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,083 kWh a year here against the turbine's 387, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 129¢/kWh, 6.1 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.38. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Montour County is the 2,643rd 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 Montour County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.04 m/s and about 577 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.61 m/s and 134 kWh, so the best month makes 4.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 60% of the year's output in Montour County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.01 m/s | 563 kWh | $119 |
| February | 4.13 m/s | 556 kWh | $117 |
| March | 4.04 m/s | 577 kWh | $122 |
| April | 3.80 m/s | 463 kWh | $98 |
| May | 3.17 m/s | 266 kWh | $56 |
| June | 2.89 m/s | 188 kWh | $40 |
| July | 2.68 m/s | 148 kWh | $31 |
| August | 2.61 m/s | 134 kWh | $28 |
| September | 2.87 m/s | 183 kWh | $39 |
| October | 3.27 m/s | 295 kWh | $62 |
| November | 3.49 m/s | 354 kWh | $75 |
| December | 3.71 m/s | 442 kWh | $93 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Montour County averages 2.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.26 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.451, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,094 to 7,953 kWh a year, 280% 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 | 2.82 m/s | 2,094 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.38 m/s | 3,880 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.85 m/s | 5,857 kWh | 81 years |
| 50 m | 4.26 m/s | 7,953 kWh | 60 years |
Counties around Montour County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sullivan County, averages 3.61 m/s.
- Northumberland County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Columbia County, PA: 3.48 m/s, 4,250 kWh, payback over 100 years (14 mi)
- Union County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Snyder County, PA: 3.38 m/s, 3,868 kWh, payback over 100 years (28 mi)
- Sullivan County, PA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 99 years (29 mi)
- Lycoming County, PA: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
Sun versus wind in Montour County
Montour County gets 3.71 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,083 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 387. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.8 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.