Wind Turbine Payback in De Soto Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in De Soto 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 De Soto Parish, LA averages 3.3 m/s (7.4 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,577 kWh a year, worth $475 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 De Soto Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in De Soto Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 3.3 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,332 kWh a year here against the turbine's 358, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 140¢/kWh, 10.5 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 3.3. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
De Soto Parish is the 2,741st 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 De Soto Parish
April is the strongest month here, at 3.81 m/s and about 464 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.67 m/s and 148 kWh, so the best month makes 3.1 times the worst. November to March brings in 51% of the year's output in De Soto Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.53 m/s | 376 kWh | $50 |
| February | 3.61 m/s | 368 kWh | $49 |
| March | 3.73 m/s | 452 kWh | $60 |
| April | 3.81 m/s | 464 kWh | $62 |
| May | 3.40 m/s | 334 kWh | $44 |
| June | 2.94 m/s | 199 kWh | $26 |
| July | 2.67 m/s | 148 kWh | $20 |
| August | 2.73 m/s | 159 kWh | $21 |
| September | 3.00 m/s | 213 kWh | $28 |
| October | 3.29 m/s | 299 kWh | $40 |
| November | 3.49 m/s | 354 kWh | $47 |
| December | 3.49 m/s | 366 kWh | $49 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in De Soto Parish averages 2.06 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.11 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.429, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,980 to 7,143 kWh a year, 261% 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 | 2.77 m/s | 1,980 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.3 m/s | 3,581 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.73 m/s | 5,319 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.11 m/s | 7,143 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around De Soto Parish
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Caddo Parish, averages 3.49 m/s.
- Red River Parish, LA: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Shelby County, TX: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Panola County, TX: 3.47 m/s, 4,211 kWh, payback over 100 years (34 mi)
- Sabine Parish, LA: 3.27 m/s, 3,471 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Caddo Parish, LA: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (37 mi)
- Bossier Parish, LA: 3.49 m/s, 4,289 kWh, payback over 100 years (45 mi)
Sun versus wind in De Soto Parish
De Soto Parish gets 4.56 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,332 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 358. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 3.7 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.