Wind Turbine Payback in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK
Wind turbine payback in Yukon-Koyukuk 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, AK averages 5.2 m/s (11.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 13,907 kWh a year, worth $3,799 at AK's 27.32¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 26 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 5.8 m/s at the hub against 5.2 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 739 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,391, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 36¢/kWh, 1.3 times what AK pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 5.8 m/s instead of 5.2. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of AK
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is the 1,379th 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 Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
January is the strongest month here, at 6.79 m/s and about 2,170 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.67 m/s and 427 kWh, so the best month makes 5.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 65% of the year's output in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.79 m/s | 2,170 kWh | $593 |
| February | 6.39 m/s | 1,734 kWh | $474 |
| March | 6.15 m/s | 1,767 kWh | $483 |
| April | 5.24 m/s | 1,164 kWh | $318 |
| May | 4.36 m/s | 723 kWh | $198 |
| June | 3.82 m/s | 470 kWh | $128 |
| July | 3.67 m/s | 427 kWh | $117 |
| August | 3.91 m/s | 522 kWh | $143 |
| September | 4.36 m/s | 700 kWh | $191 |
| October | 5.02 m/s | 1,077 kWh | $294 |
| November | 6.05 m/s | 1,650 kWh | $451 |
| December | 6.64 m/s | 2,076 kWh | $567 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area averages 4.1 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.81 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.217, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 10,969 to 18,300 kWh a year, 67% 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 | 4.76 m/s | 10,969 kWh | 33 years |
| 30 m | 5.2 m/s | 13,909 kWh | 26 years |
| 40 m | 5.54 m/s | 16,293 kWh | 23 years |
| 50 m | 5.81 m/s | 18,300 kWh | 20 years |
Counties around Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Northwest Arctic Borough, averages 5.52 m/s.
- Denali Borough, AK: 4.06 m/s, 6,883 kWh, payback 53 years (126 mi)
- Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK: 3.23 m/s, 3,333 kWh, payback over 100 years (156 mi)
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK: 4.5 m/s, 9,339 kWh, payback 39 years (224 mi)
- Northwest Arctic Borough, AK: 5.52 m/s, 16,181 kWh, payback 23 years (261 mi)
- Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK: 2.93 m/s, 2,398 kWh, payback over 100 years (268 mi)
- North Slope Borough, AK: 4.73 m/s, 10,762 kWh, payback 34 years (286 mi)
Sun versus wind in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area gets 2.53 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 739 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,391. This is one of the rare places where a kilowatt of turbine out-produces a kilowatt of panels, by 1.9 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.