Wind Turbine Payback in Harrisonburg city, VA
Wind turbine payback in Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg city, VA averages 3.76 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,432 kWh a year, worth $921 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 Harrisonburg city
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Harrisonburg city unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.76 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,203 kWh a year here against the turbine's 543, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 92¢/kWh, 5.4 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.76. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Harrisonburg city is the 2,236th 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 Harrisonburg city
March is the strongest month here, at 4.49 m/s and about 788 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.79 m/s and 171 kWh, so the best month makes 4.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 59% of the year's output in Harrisonburg city.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.43 m/s | 758 kWh | $128 |
| February | 4.54 m/s | 735 kWh | $125 |
| March | 4.49 m/s | 788 kWh | $134 |
| April | 4.35 m/s | 693 kWh | $117 |
| May | 3.54 m/s | 381 kWh | $65 |
| June | 3.23 m/s | 273 kWh | $46 |
| July | 2.91 m/s | 198 kWh | $34 |
| August | 2.79 m/s | 171 kWh | $29 |
| September | 3.16 m/s | 255 kWh | $43 |
| October | 3.68 m/s | 433 kWh | $73 |
| November | 4.02 m/s | 550 kWh | $93 |
| December | 4.07 m/s | 591 kWh | $100 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Harrisonburg city averages 2.63 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.44 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.325, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,564 to 8,982 kWh a year, 152% 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 | 3.3 m/s | 3,564 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.76 m/s | 5,436 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.13 m/s | 7,245 kWh | 81 years |
| 50 m | 4.44 m/s | 8,982 kWh | 66 years |
Counties around Harrisonburg city
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Harrisonburg city.
- Rockingham County, VA: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (5 mi)
- Staunton city, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Augusta County, VA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Greene County, VA: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Page County, VA: 3.76 m/s, 5,432 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Waynesboro city, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
Sun versus wind in Harrisonburg city
Harrisonburg city gets 4.12 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,203 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 543. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.2 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.