Wind Turbine Payback in Sitka City and Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Sitka City and Borough
Only just. The money comes back late in the turbine's life.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Sitka City and Borough, AK averages 6.4 m/s (14.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 22,669 kWh a year, worth $6,193 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 16 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Sitka City and Borough
It is close enough that your own site decides it. If you have open land with no trees or buildings upwind, ask an installer to log the wind at 30 m or higher; anything above 5.8 m/s pays back in time. Per kW, solar panels would make about 672 kWh a year here against the turbine's 2,267, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power already costs enough here: break-even is 22¢/kWh and AK pays 27.32¢.
- The wind clears the break-even speed of 5.8 m/s at today's price.
Against the rest of AK
Sitka City and Borough is the 322nd 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 Sitka City and Borough
December is the strongest month here, at 8.10 m/s and about 2,924 kWh. July is the weakest, 4.57 m/s and 831 kWh, so the best month makes 3.5 times the worst. November to March brings in 57% of the year's output in Sitka City and Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.00 m/s | 2,874 kWh | $785 |
| February | 7.00 m/s | 2,072 kWh | $566 |
| March | 6.97 m/s | 2,277 kWh | $622 |
| April | 6.15 m/s | 1,712 kWh | $468 |
| May | 5.50 m/s | 1,364 kWh | $373 |
| June | 4.74 m/s | 891 kWh | $243 |
| July | 4.57 m/s | 831 kWh | $227 |
| August | 4.98 m/s | 1,052 kWh | $287 |
| September | 6.04 m/s | 1,643 kWh | $449 |
| October | 7.03 m/s | 2,317 kWh | $633 |
| November | 7.69 m/s | 2,616 kWh | $715 |
| December | 8.10 m/s | 2,924 kWh | $799 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Sitka City and Borough averages 5.59 m/s; at 50 m it is 6.81 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.123, typical of very open, smooth ground where height adds little. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 20,328 to 25,675 kWh a year, 26% 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 | 6.08 m/s | 20,328 kWh | 18 years |
| 30 m | 6.4 m/s | 22,634 kWh | 16 years |
| 40 m | 6.63 m/s | 24,330 kWh | 15 years |
| 50 m | 6.81 m/s | 25,675 kWh | 14 years |
Counties around Sitka City and Borough
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Sitka City and Borough.
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK: 4.48 m/s, 9,219 kWh, payback 40 years (86 mi)
- Petersburg Borough, AK: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 57 years (89 mi)
- Juneau City and Borough, AK: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 61 years (93 mi)
- Haines Borough, AK: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback 67 years (132 mi)
- Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 44 years (134 mi)
- Wrangell City and Borough, AK: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback 79 years (145 mi)
Sun versus wind in Sitka City and Borough
Sitka City and Borough gets 2.3 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 672 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 2,267. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 3.4 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.