Wind Turbine Payback in Highland County, VA
Wind turbine payback in Highland 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 Highland County, VA averages 3.69 m/s (8.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,121 kWh a year, worth $868 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 Highland County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Highland County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.69 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,168 kWh a year here against the turbine's 512, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 98¢/kWh, 5.8 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.69. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Highland County is the 2,300th 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 Highland County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.65 m/s and about 871 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.59 m/s and 130 kWh, so the best month makes 6.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 64% of the year's output in Highland County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.65 m/s | 871 kWh | $148 |
| February | 4.70 m/s | 810 kWh | $137 |
| March | 4.45 m/s | 765 kWh | $130 |
| April | 4.24 m/s | 645 kWh | $109 |
| May | 3.39 m/s | 333 kWh | $56 |
| June | 3.06 m/s | 228 kWh | $39 |
| July | 2.74 m/s | 161 kWh | $27 |
| August | 2.59 m/s | 130 kWh | $22 |
| September | 2.86 m/s | 182 kWh | $31 |
| October | 3.48 m/s | 362 kWh | $61 |
| November | 3.91 m/s | 503 kWh | $85 |
| December | 4.22 m/s | 659 kWh | $112 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Highland County averages 2.38 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.52 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.399, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,021 to 9,459 kWh a year, 213% 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 | 3.14 m/s | 3,021 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.69 m/s | 5,106 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.13 m/s | 7,274 kWh | 81 years |
| 50 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,459 kWh | 62 years |
Counties around Highland County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than Highland County.
- Bath County, VA: 3.37 m/s, 3,830 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Pocahontas County, WV: 3.65 m/s, 4,948 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Pendleton County, WV: 3.69 m/s, 5,121 kWh, payback over 100 years (24 mi)
- Augusta County, VA: 3.41 m/s, 3,980 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- Staunton city, VA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Randolph County, WV: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (33 mi)
Sun versus wind in Highland County
Highland County gets 4 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,168 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 512. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.3 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.