Wind Turbine Payback in Prince Edward County, VA
Wind turbine payback in Prince Edward 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 Prince Edward County, VA averages 3.29 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,541 kWh a year, worth $600 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 Prince Edward County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Prince Edward County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 7.3 m/s at the hub against 3.29 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,250 kWh a year here against the turbine's 354, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 141¢/kWh, 8.3 times what VA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 7.3 m/s instead of 3.29. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of VA
Prince Edward County is the 2,761st 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 Prince Edward County
March is the strongest month here, at 3.81 m/s and about 482 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.60 m/s and 132 kWh, so the best month makes 3.7 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Prince Edward County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.68 m/s | 431 kWh | $73 |
| February | 3.82 m/s | 438 kWh | $74 |
| March | 3.81 m/s | 482 kWh | $82 |
| April | 3.81 m/s | 466 kWh | $79 |
| May | 3.26 m/s | 292 kWh | $49 |
| June | 2.90 m/s | 191 kWh | $32 |
| July | 2.68 m/s | 148 kWh | $25 |
| August | 2.60 m/s | 132 kWh | $22 |
| September | 2.91 m/s | 193 kWh | $33 |
| October | 3.22 m/s | 280 kWh | $47 |
| November | 3.39 m/s | 322 kWh | $55 |
| December | 3.45 m/s | 351 kWh | $59 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Prince Edward County averages 1.98 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.17 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.463, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,866 to 7,461 kWh a year, 300% 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 | 2.73 m/s | 1,866 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.29 m/s | 3,547 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.76 m/s | 5,435 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.17 m/s | 7,461 kWh | 79 years |
Counties around Prince Edward County
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Charlotte County, averages 3.32 m/s.
- Charlotte County, VA: 3.32 m/s, 3,648 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Nottoway County, VA: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Lunenburg County, VA: 3.29 m/s, 3,541 kWh, payback over 100 years (22 mi)
- Cumberland County, VA: 3.11 m/s, 2,938 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Appomattox County, VA: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Buckingham County, VA: 3.08 m/s, 2,844 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
Sun versus wind in Prince Edward County
Prince Edward 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 354. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.5 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.