Wind Turbine Payback in Madison Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in Madison 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 Madison Parish, LA averages 4.77 m/s (10.7 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 11,018 kWh a year, worth $1,462 at LA's 13.27¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of 68 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Madison Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Madison Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 4.77 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,352 kWh a year here against the turbine's 1,102, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 45¢/kWh, 3.4 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 4.77. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
Madison Parish is the 1,576th 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 Madison Parish
March is the strongest month here, at 5.56 m/s and about 1,401 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.64 m/s and 418 kWh, so the best month makes 3.4 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Madison Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.37 m/s | 1,285 kWh | $171 |
| February | 5.55 m/s | 1,256 kWh | $167 |
| March | 5.56 m/s | 1,401 kWh | $186 |
| April | 5.55 m/s | 1,346 kWh | $179 |
| May | 4.71 m/s | 904 kWh | $120 |
| June | 4.04 m/s | 558 kWh | $74 |
| July | 3.64 m/s | 418 kWh | $55 |
| August | 3.69 m/s | 437 kWh | $58 |
| September | 4.23 m/s | 638 kWh | $85 |
| October | 4.66 m/s | 876 kWh | $116 |
| November | 5.09 m/s | 1,078 kWh | $143 |
| December | 5.27 m/s | 1,222 kWh | $162 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Madison Parish averages 3.53 m/s; at 50 m it is 5.49 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.274, typical of ordinary open country. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 8,014 to 15,965 kWh a year, 99% 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 | 4.27 m/s | 8,014 kWh | 94 years |
| 30 m | 4.77 m/s | 11,037 kWh | 68 years |
| 40 m | 5.16 m/s | 13,659 kWh | 55 years |
| 50 m | 5.49 m/s | 15,965 kWh | 47 years |
Counties around Madison Parish
1 of the 6 closest counties is windier at turbine height; the windiest, Issaquena County, averages 4.9 m/s.
- Warren County, MS: 4.39 m/s, 8,690 kWh, payback 76 years (22 mi)
- Tensas Parish, LA: 4.1 m/s, 7,090 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- East Carroll Parish, LA: 4.77 m/s, 11,018 kWh, payback 68 years (26 mi)
- Franklin Parish, LA: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 93 years (29 mi)
- Richland Parish, LA: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 74 years (30 mi)
- Issaquena County, MS: 4.9 m/s, 11,866 kWh, payback 56 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in Madison Parish
Madison Parish gets 4.63 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,352 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 1,102. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 1.2 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.