Wind Turbine Payback in Wrangell City and Borough, AK
Wind turbine payback in Wrangell City and 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 Wrangell City and Borough, AK averages 3.57 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,612 kWh a year, worth $1,260 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 79 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Wrangell City and Borough
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Wrangell City and Borough unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 3.57 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 710 kWh a year here against the turbine's 461, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 108¢/kWh, 4.0 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 3.57. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Wrangell City and Borough is the 2,441st 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 Wrangell City and Borough
January is the strongest month here, at 4.60 m/s and about 847 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.65 m/s and 142 kWh, so the best month makes 6.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 65% of the year's output in Wrangell City and Borough.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.60 m/s | 847 kWh | $231 |
| February | 3.91 m/s | 471 kWh | $129 |
| March | 3.95 m/s | 539 kWh | $147 |
| April | 3.45 m/s | 341 kWh | $93 |
| May | 2.95 m/s | 209 kWh | $57 |
| June | 2.77 m/s | 162 kWh | $44 |
| July | 2.65 m/s | 142 kWh | $39 |
| August | 2.76 m/s | 165 kWh | $45 |
| September | 3.26 m/s | 282 kWh | $77 |
| October | 3.79 m/s | 472 kWh | $129 |
| November | 4.24 m/s | 643 kWh | $176 |
| December | 4.52 m/s | 802 kWh | $219 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Wrangell City and Borough averages 2.7 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.06 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.253, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,299 to 6,883 kWh a year, 109% 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 | 3.22 m/s | 3,299 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.57 m/s | 4,602 kWh | 80 years |
| 40 m | 3.84 m/s | 5,787 kWh | 63 years |
| 50 m | 4.06 m/s | 6,883 kWh | 53 years |
Counties around Wrangell City and Borough
6 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Sitka City and Borough, averages 6.4 m/s.
- Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, AK: 4.32 m/s, 8,289 kWh, payback 44 years (56 mi)
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK: 3.71 m/s, 5,209 kWh, payback 70 years (62 mi)
- Petersburg Borough, AK: 3.97 m/s, 6,428 kWh, payback 57 years (74 mi)
- Sitka City and Borough, AK: 6.4 m/s, 22,669 kWh, payback 16 years (145 mi)
- Juneau City and Borough, AK: 3.89 m/s, 6,037 kWh, payback 61 years (171 mi)
- Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, AK: 4.48 m/s, 9,219 kWh, payback 40 years (210 mi)
Sun versus wind in Wrangell City and Borough
Wrangell City and Borough gets 2.43 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 710 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 461. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.5 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.