Wind Turbine Payback in Petersburg Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Petersburg Borough
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Petersburg Borough, AK averages 3.97 m/s (8.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 6,428 kWh a year, worth $1,756 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 57 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Petersburg Borough
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Petersburg Borough unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 3.97 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 803 kWh a year here against the turbine's 643, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 78¢/kWh, 2.8 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 3.97. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Petersburg Borough is the 2,080th 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 Petersburg Borough
January is the strongest month here, at 5.30 m/s and about 1,244 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.60 m/s and 133 kWh, so the best month makes 9.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 68% of the year's output in Petersburg Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.30 m/s | 1,244 kWh | $340 |
| February | 4.53 m/s | 730 kWh | $199 |
| March | 4.44 m/s | 764 kWh | $209 |
| April | 3.81 m/s | 465 kWh | $127 |
| May | 3.20 m/s | 276 kWh | $75 |
| June | 2.75 m/s | 158 kWh | $43 |
| July | 2.60 m/s | 133 kWh | $36 |
| August | 2.87 m/s | 191 kWh | $52 |
| September | 3.60 m/s | 388 kWh | $106 |
| October | 4.30 m/s | 694 kWh | $190 |
| November | 4.91 m/s | 982 kWh | $268 |
| December | 5.30 m/s | 1,238 kWh | $338 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Petersburg Borough averages 3.09 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.46 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.228, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,816 to 9,100 kWh a year, 89% 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 | 3.62 m/s | 4,816 kWh | 76 years |
| 30 m | 3.97 m/s | 6,426 kWh | 57 years |
| 40 m | 4.24 m/s | 7,835 kWh | 47 years |
| 50 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,100 kWh | 40 years |
Counties around Petersburg Borough
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sitka City and Borough, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Wrangell City and Borough, AK: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 79 years (74 mi)
- Sitka City and Borough, AK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 16 years (89 mi)
- Juneau City and Borough, AK: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 61 years (97 mi)
- Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 44 years (99 mi)
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback 70 years (136 mi)
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK: 4.48 m/s, 9,219 kWh, payback 40 years (139 mi)
Sun versus wind in Petersburg Borough
Petersburg Borough gets 2.75 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 803 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 643. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.