Wind Turbine Payback in Northampton County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Northampton 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 Northampton County, PA averages 3.55 m/s (7.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,530 kWh a year, worth $957 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 Northampton County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Northampton County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.55 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,127 kWh a year here against the turbine's 453, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 110¢/kWh, 5.2 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.55. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Northampton County is the 2,459th 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 Northampton County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.26 m/s and about 677 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.74 m/s and 161 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 61% of the year's output in Northampton County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.24 m/s | 666 kWh | $141 |
| February | 4.41 m/s | 674 kWh | $142 |
| March | 4.26 m/s | 677 kWh | $143 |
| April | 3.90 m/s | 499 kWh | $105 |
| May | 3.25 m/s | 288 kWh | $61 |
| June | 2.97 m/s | 206 kWh | $44 |
| July | 2.80 m/s | 174 kWh | $37 |
| August | 2.74 m/s | 161 kWh | $34 |
| September | 2.99 m/s | 212 kWh | $45 |
| October | 3.45 m/s | 349 kWh | $74 |
| November | 3.69 m/s | 421 kWh | $89 |
| December | 3.95 m/s | 536 kWh | $113 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Northampton County averages 2.16 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.47 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.452, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,467 to 9,160 kWh a year, 271% 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 | 2.95 m/s | 2,467 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.55 m/s | 4,523 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.04 m/s | 6,786 kWh | 70 years |
| 50 m | 4.47 m/s | 9,160 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Northampton County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lehigh County, averages 3.62 m/s.
- Warren County, NJ: 3.55 m/s, 4,530 kWh, payback 92 years (17 mi)
- Lehigh County, PA: 3.62 m/s, 4,820 kWh, payback 98 years (18 mi)
- Monroe County, PA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 99 years (21 mi)
- Carbon County, PA: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback 99 years (24 mi)
- Hunterdon County, NJ: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback 93 years (24 mi)
- Bucks County, PA: 3.54 m/s, 4,489 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Northampton County
Northampton 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 453. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.5 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.