Wind Turbine Payback in New Kent County, VA
Wind turbine payback in New Kent 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 New Kent County, VA averages 3.77 m/s (8.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 5,477 kWh a year, worth $928 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 New Kent County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in New Kent County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.77 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,259 kWh a year here against the turbine's 548, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 91¢/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 3.77. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
New Kent County is the 2,225th 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 New Kent County
March is the strongest month here, at 4.36 m/s and about 721 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.99 m/s and 219 kWh, so the best month makes 3.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in New Kent County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.19 m/s | 643 kWh | $109 |
| February | 4.33 m/s | 640 kWh | $108 |
| March | 4.36 m/s | 721 kWh | $122 |
| April | 4.32 m/s | 682 kWh | $116 |
| May | 3.70 m/s | 440 kWh | $75 |
| June | 3.32 m/s | 299 kWh | $51 |
| July | 3.08 m/s | 241 kWh | $41 |
| August | 2.99 m/s | 219 kWh | $37 |
| September | 3.41 m/s | 329 kWh | $56 |
| October | 3.72 m/s | 446 kWh | $76 |
| November | 3.93 m/s | 514 kWh | $87 |
| December | 3.96 m/s | 541 kWh | $92 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in New Kent County averages 2.49 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.57 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.377, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 3,351 to 9,763 kWh a year, 191% 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 | 3.24 m/s | 3,351 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.77 m/s | 5,475 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.2 m/s | 7,630 kWh | 77 years |
| 50 m | 4.57 m/s | 9,763 kWh | 60 years |
Counties around New Kent County
None of the 6 closest counties is windier than New Kent County.
- Charles City County, VA: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (11 mi)
- King William County, VA: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- King and Queen County, VA: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (15 mi)
- Henrico County, VA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (17 mi)
- James City County, VA: 3.77 m/s, 5,477 kWh, payback over 100 years (18 mi)
- Hopewell city, VA: 3.6 m/s, 4,736 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
Sun versus wind in New Kent County
New Kent County gets 4.31 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,259 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 548. 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.