Wind Turbine Payback in Amherst County, VA
Wind turbine payback in Amherst 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 Amherst County, VA averages 3.02 m/s (6.8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,661 kWh a year, worth $451 at VA's 16.95¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Amherst County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Amherst County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.02 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,232 kWh a year here against the turbine's 266, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 188¢/kWh, 11.1 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.02. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Amherst County is the 3,048th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in VA is Northampton County at 7.01 m/s, payback 22 years.
Month by month in Amherst County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.57 m/s and about 393 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.30 m/s and 82 kWh, so the best month makes 4.8 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Amherst County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.53 m/s | 379 kWh | $64 |
| February | 3.64 m/s | 378 kWh | $64 |
| March | 3.57 m/s | 393 kWh | $67 |
| April | 3.49 m/s | 352 kWh | $60 |
| May | 2.88 m/s | 191 kWh | $32 |
| June | 2.61 m/s | 130 kWh | $22 |
| July | 2.39 m/s | 96 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.30 m/s | 82 kWh | $14 |
| September | 2.59 m/s | 126 kWh | $21 |
| October | 2.96 m/s | 212 kWh | $36 |
| November | 3.16 m/s | 254 kWh | $43 |
| December | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $49 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Amherst County averages 1.79 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.86 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.477, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,337 to 5,894 kWh a year, 341% 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 | 2.49 m/s | 1,337 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.03 m/s | 2,676 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.47 m/s | 4,212 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.86 m/s | 5,894 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Amherst County
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Lexington city, averages 3.41 m/s.
- Buena Vista city, VA: 3.02 m/s, 2,661 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Lynchburg city, VA: 3.02 m/s, 2,661 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Nelson County, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Lexington city, VA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Rockbridge County, VA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Appomattox County, VA: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Amherst County
Amherst County gets 4.22 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,232 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 266. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.6 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.