Wind Turbine Payback in St. Helena Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in St. Helena 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 St. Helena Parish, LA averages 2.97 m/s (6.6 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 2,513 kWh a year, worth $333 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 St. Helena Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in St. Helena Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 2.97 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,361 kWh a year here against the turbine's 251, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 199¢/kWh, 15.0 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 2.97. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
St. Helena Parish is the 3,068th 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 St. Helena Parish
March is the strongest month here, at 3.36 m/s and about 322 kWh. July is the weakest, 2.29 m/s and 81 kWh, so the best month makes 4.0 times the worst. November to March brings in 56% of the year's output in St. Helena Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.28 m/s | 296 kWh | $39 |
| February | 3.35 m/s | 289 kWh | $38 |
| March | 3.36 m/s | 322 kWh | $43 |
| April | 3.34 m/s | 305 kWh | $40 |
| May | 2.92 m/s | 201 kWh | $27 |
| June | 2.51 m/s | 112 kWh | $15 |
| July | 2.29 m/s | 81 kWh | $11 |
| August | 2.37 m/s | 93 kWh | $12 |
| September | 2.72 m/s | 151 kWh | $20 |
| October | 3.01 m/s | 224 kWh | $30 |
| November | 3.22 m/s | 271 kWh | $36 |
| December | 3.25 m/s | 290 kWh | $38 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in St. Helena Parish averages 1.72 m/s; at 50 m it is 3.82 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.496, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 1,201 to 5,707 kWh a year, 375% 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 | 2.42 m/s | 1,201 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 2.97 m/s | 2,499 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 3.42 m/s | 4,017 kWh | over 100 years |
| 50 m | 3.82 m/s | 5,707 kWh | over 100 years |
Counties around St. Helena Parish
4 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, East Baton Rouge Parish, averages 4.13 m/s.
- East Feliciana Parish, LA: 3.4 m/s, 3,942 kWh, payback over 100 years (20 mi)
- Tangipahoa Parish, LA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Livingston Parish, LA: 3.25 m/s, 3,402 kWh, payback over 100 years (26 mi)
- Amite County, MS: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (27 mi)
- East Baton Rouge Parish, LA: 4.13 m/s, 7,248 kWh, payback over 100 years (30 mi)
- Pike County, MS: 2.97 m/s, 2,513 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
Sun versus wind in St. Helena Parish
St. Helena 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 251. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 5.4 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.