Wind Turbine Payback in Somerset County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Somerset 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 Somerset County, PA averages 3.67 m/s (8.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,034 kWh a year, worth $1,064 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 94 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Somerset County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Somerset County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.67 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,107 kWh a year here against the turbine's 503, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 99¢/kWh, 4.7 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.67. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Somerset County is the 2,308th 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 Somerset County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.67 m/s and about 881 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.63 m/s and 139 kWh, so the best month makes 6.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Somerset County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.67 m/s | 881 kWh | $186 |
| February | 4.72 m/s | 823 kWh | $174 |
| March | 4.43 m/s | 760 kWh | $161 |
| April | 4.15 m/s | 606 kWh | $128 |
| May | 3.36 m/s | 321 kWh | $68 |
| June | 3.01 m/s | 216 kWh | $46 |
| July | 2.74 m/s | 162 kWh | $34 |
| August | 2.63 m/s | 139 kWh | $29 |
| September | 2.90 m/s | 190 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.45 m/s | 352 kWh | $74 |
| November | 3.81 m/s | 464 kWh | $98 |
| December | 4.22 m/s | 656 kWh | $139 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Somerset County averages 2.3 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.56 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.425, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,872 to 9,702 kWh a year, 238% 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 | 3.09 m/s | 2,872 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.67 m/s | 5,034 kWh | 94 years |
| 40 m | 4.15 m/s | 7,340 kWh | 65 years |
| 50 m | 4.56 m/s | 9,702 kWh | 49 years |
Counties around Somerset County
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Fayette County, averages 3.8 m/s.
- Bedford County, PA: 3.67 m/s, 5,034 kWh, payback 94 years (28 mi)
- Allegany County, MD: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Westmoreland County, PA: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Fayette County, PA: 3.8 m/s, 5,614 kWh, payback 84 years (33 mi)
- Garrett County, MD: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 89 years (33 mi)
- Mineral County, WV: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (40 mi)
Sun versus wind in Somerset County
Somerset County gets 3.79 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,107 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 503. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.