Wind Turbine Payback in Buckingham County, VA
Wind turbine payback in Buckingham 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 Buckingham County, VA averages 3.08 m/s (6.9 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,844 kWh a year, worth $482 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 Buckingham County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Buckingham County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.08 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,250 kWh a year here against the turbine's 284, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 176¢/kWh, 10.4 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.08. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Buckingham County is the 3,002nd 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 Buckingham County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.59 m/s and about 397 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.38 m/s and 95 kWh, so the best month makes 4.2 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in Buckingham County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.49 m/s | 365 kWh | $62 |
| February | 3.63 m/s | 372 kWh | $63 |
| March | 3.59 m/s | 397 kWh | $67 |
| April | 3.55 m/s | 371 kWh | $63 |
| May | 2.98 m/s | 215 kWh | $36 |
| June | 2.70 m/s | 147 kWh | $25 |
| July | 2.47 m/s | 109 kWh | $18 |
| August | 2.38 m/s | 95 kWh | $16 |
| September | 2.70 m/s | 147 kWh | $25 |
| October | 3.05 m/s | 233 kWh | $39 |
| November | 3.21 m/s | 269 kWh | $46 |
| December | 3.24 m/s | 287 kWh | $49 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Buckingham County averages 1.81 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.94 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.483, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,415 to 6,280 kWh a year, 344% 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 | 2.53 m/s | 1,415 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.08 m/s | 2,839 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.54 m/s | 4,479 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.94 m/s | 6,280 kWh | 94 years |
Counties around Buckingham County
5 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Prince Edward County, averages 3.29 m/s.
- Cumberland County, VA: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (16 mi)
- Appomattox County, VA: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (21 mi)
- Fluvanna County, VA: 3.13 m/s, 3,002 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Nelson County, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Prince Edward County, VA: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Albemarle County, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Buckingham County
Buckingham County gets 4.28 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,250 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 284. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.4 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.