Wind Turbine Payback in Livingston Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in Livingston 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 Livingston Parish, LA averages 3.25 m/s (7.3 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 3,402 kWh a year, worth $451 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 Livingston Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Livingston Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 3.25 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,361 kWh a year here against the turbine's 340, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 147¢/kWh, 11.1 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 3.25. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
Livingston Parish is the 2,816th 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 Livingston Parish
March is the strongest month here, at 3.69 m/s and about 437 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.54 m/s and 121 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Livingston Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.62 m/s | 410 kWh | $54 |
| February | 3.70 m/s | 397 kWh | $53 |
| March | 3.69 m/s | 437 kWh | $58 |
| April | 3.69 m/s | 423 kWh | $56 |
| May | 3.22 m/s | 280 kWh | $37 |
| June | 2.74 m/s | 156 kWh | $21 |
| July | 2.54 m/s | 121 kWh | $16 |
| August | 2.58 m/s | 129 kWh | $17 |
| September | 2.95 m/s | 201 kWh | $27 |
| October | 3.29 m/s | 299 kWh | $40 |
| November | 3.49 m/s | 354 kWh | $47 |
| December | 3.58 m/s | 396 kWh | $53 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Livingston Parish averages 2.03 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.05 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 1,879 to 6,831 kWh a year, 264% 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 | 1,879 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.25 m/s | 3,412 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.68 m/s | 5,078 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 4.05 m/s | 6,831 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around Livingston Parish
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Ascension Parish, averages 4.7 m/s.
- Ascension Parish, LA: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 71 years (20 mi)
- Tangipahoa Parish, LA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- East Baton Rouge Parish, LA: 4.13 m/s, 7,248 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- St. John the Baptist Parish, LA: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 71 years (25 mi)
- St. Helena Parish, LA: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- St. James Parish, LA: 4.7 m/s, 10,571 kWh, payback 71 years (29 mi)
Sun versus wind in Livingston Parish
Livingston 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 340. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 4.0 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.