Wind Turbine Payback in Colonial Heights city, VA
Wind turbine payback in Colonial Heights city
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Colonial Heights city, VA averages 3.6 m/s (8.1 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,736 kWh a year, worth $803 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 Colonial Heights city
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Colonial Heights city unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.6 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,247 kWh a year here against the turbine's 474, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 106¢/kWh, 6.2 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.6. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Colonial Heights city is the 2,402nd 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 Colonial Heights city
March is the strongest month here, at 4.19 m/s and about 644 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.83 m/s and 181 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Colonial Heights city.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.02 m/s | 567 kWh | $96 |
| February | 4.18 m/s | 575 kWh | $97 |
| March | 4.19 m/s | 644 kWh | $109 |
| April | 4.15 m/s | 605 kWh | $103 |
| May | 3.53 m/s | 379 kWh | $64 |
| June | 3.17 m/s | 257 kWh | $44 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 200 kWh | $34 |
| August | 2.83 m/s | 181 kWh | $31 |
| September | 3.19 m/s | 262 kWh | $44 |
| October | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $65 |
| November | 3.74 m/s | 438 kWh | $74 |
| December | 3.75 m/s | 456 kWh | $77 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Colonial Heights city averages 2.38 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.36 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.376, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,873 to 8,517 kWh a year, 196% 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 | 2,873 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.6 m/s | 4,728 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.01 m/s | 6,623 kWh | 89 years |
| 50 m | 4.36 m/s | 8,517 kWh | 69 years |
Counties around Colonial Heights city
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Colonial Heights city.
- Petersburg city, VA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (4 mi)
- Hopewell city, VA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (6 mi)
- Prince George County, VA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (11 mi)
- Chesterfield County, VA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Henrico County, VA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (13 mi)
- Dinwiddie County, VA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
Sun versus wind in Colonial Heights city
Colonial Heights city gets 4.27 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,247 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 474. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.6 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.