Wind Turbine Payback in Tensas Parish, LA
Wind turbine payback in Tensas 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 Tensas Parish, LA averages 4.1 m/s (9.2 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 7,090 kWh a year, worth $941 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 Tensas Parish
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Tensas Parish unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 8.6 m/s at the hub against 4.1 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,352 kWh a year here against the turbine's 709, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 71¢/kWh, 5.3 times what LA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 8.6 m/s instead of 4.1. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of LA
Tensas Parish is the 1,994th 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 Tensas Parish
March is the strongest month here, at 4.73 m/s and about 914 kWh. July is the weakest, 3.14 m/s and 257 kWh, so the best month makes 3.6 times the worst. November to March brings in 55% of the year's output in Tensas Parish.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.57 m/s | 829 kWh | $110 |
| February | 4.75 m/s | 834 kWh | $111 |
| March | 4.73 m/s | 914 kWh | $121 |
| April | 4.70 m/s | 867 kWh | $115 |
| May | 4.04 m/s | 574 kWh | $76 |
| June | 3.50 m/s | 357 kWh | $47 |
| July | 3.14 m/s | 257 kWh | $34 |
| August | 3.22 m/s | 279 kWh | $37 |
| September | 3.66 m/s | 409 kWh | $54 |
| October | 4.04 m/s | 574 kWh | $76 |
| November | 4.37 m/s | 707 kWh | $94 |
| December | 4.50 m/s | 794 kWh | $105 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Tensas Parish averages 2.86 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.84 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.327, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 4,681 to 11,472 kWh a year, 145% 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 | 3.59 m/s | 4,681 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 4.1 m/s | 7,066 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.5 m/s | 9,335 kWh | 81 years |
| 50 m | 4.84 m/s | 11,472 kWh | 66 years |
Counties around Tensas Parish
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Madison Parish, averages 4.77 m/s.
- Franklin Parish, LA: 4.29 m/s, 8,120 kWh, payback 93 years (22 mi)
- Madison Parish, LA: 4.77 m/s, 11,018 kWh, payback 68 years (25 mi)
- Claiborne County, MS: 3.21 m/s, 3,265 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Jefferson County, MS: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (25 mi)
- Adams County, MS: 3.61 m/s, 4,778 kWh, payback over 100 years (36 mi)
- Richland Parish, LA: 4.65 m/s, 10,257 kWh, payback 74 years (37 mi)
Sun versus wind in Tensas Parish
Tensas 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 709. 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.