Wind Turbine Payback in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK
Wind turbine payback in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK averages 4.32 m/s (9.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 8,289 kWh a year, worth $2,265 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 44 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 4.32 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 718 kWh a year here against the turbine's 829, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 60¢/kWh, 2.2 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 4.32. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area is the 1,882nd 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 Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
January is the strongest month here, at 5.31 m/s and about 1,244 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.35 m/s and 319 kWh, so the best month makes 3.9 times the worst. November to March brings in 58% of the year's output in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.31 m/s | 1,244 kWh | $340 |
| February | 4.66 m/s | 790 kWh | $216 |
| March | 4.66 m/s | 875 kWh | $239 |
| April | 4.30 m/s | 671 kWh | $183 |
| May | 3.84 m/s | 493 kWh | $135 |
| June | 3.53 m/s | 367 kWh | $100 |
| July | 3.35 m/s | 319 kWh | $87 |
| August | 3.53 m/s | 376 kWh | $103 |
| September | 4.06 m/s | 566 kWh | $155 |
| October | 4.61 m/s | 852 kWh | $233 |
| November | 4.89 m/s | 972 kWh | $266 |
| December | 5.19 m/s | 1,176 kWh | $321 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area averages 3.26 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.93 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.257, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 6,064 to 12,065 kWh a year, 99% 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 | 3.9 m/s | 6,064 kWh | 60 years |
| 30 m | 4.32 m/s | 8,309 kWh | 44 years |
| 40 m | 4.66 m/s | 10,290 kWh | 36 years |
| 50 m | 4.93 m/s | 12,065 kWh | 30 years |
Counties around Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
2 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 (56 mi)
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback 70 years (82 mi)
- Petersburg Borough, AK: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 57 years (99 mi)
- Sitka City and Borough, AK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 16 years (134 mi)
- Juneau City and Borough, AK: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 61 years (190 mi)
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK: 4.48 m/s, 9,219 kWh, payback 40 years (214 mi)
Sun versus wind in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area gets 2.46 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 718 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 829. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.2 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.