Wind Turbine Payback in Catahoula Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in Catahoula Parish
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Catahoula Parish, LA averages 4.14 m/s (9.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,301 kWh a year, worth $969 at LA's 13.27¢/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 Catahoula Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Catahoula Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 4.14 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,361 kWh a year here against the turbine's 730, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 68¢/kWh, 5.2 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 4.14. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
Catahoula Parish is the 1,975th windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in LA is Iberia Parish at 5.86 m/s, payback 40 years.
Month by month in Catahoula Parish
March is the strongest month here, at 4.75 m/s and about 923 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.19 m/s and 272 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 54% of the year's output in Catahoula Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.58 m/s | 832 kWh | $110 |
| February | 4.77 m/s | 846 kWh | $112 |
| March | 4.75 m/s | 923 kWh | $122 |
| April | 4.78 m/s | 911 kWh | $121 |
| May | 4.17 m/s | 635 kWh | $84 |
| June | 3.58 m/s | 381 kWh | $51 |
| July | 3.19 m/s | 272 kWh | $36 |
| August | 3.28 m/s | 299 kWh | $40 |
| September | 3.69 m/s | 423 kWh | $56 |
| October | 4.05 m/s | 578 kWh | $77 |
| November | 4.39 m/s | 713 kWh | $95 |
| December | 4.52 m/s | 801 kWh | $106 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Catahoula Parish averages 2.96 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.84 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.306, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,976 to 11,472 kWh a year, 131% 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 | 3.66 m/s | 4,976 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.14 m/s | 7,299 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.52 m/s | 9,462 kWh | 80 years |
| 50 m | 4.84 m/s | 11,472 kWh | 66 years |
Counties around Catahoula Parish
2 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Caldwell Parish, averages 4.29 m/s.
- LaSalle Parish, LA: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Concordia Parish, LA: 4.14 m/s, 7,301 kWh, payback over 100 years (19 mi)
- Adams County, MS: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (32 mi)
- Caldwell Parish, LA: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 93 years (34 mi)
- Franklin Parish, LA: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 93 years (34 mi)
- Tensas Parish, LA: 4.1 m/s, 7,090 kWh, payback over 100 years (38 mi)
Sun versus wind in Catahoula Parish
Catahoula Parish gets 4.66 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,361 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 730. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.9 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.