Cherryland Electric Cooperative and solar
Cherryland Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 35,548 homes in Michigan. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is not worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 18.2¢14% below Michigan average
- Typical bill
- $128706 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~50%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 17.5 yrs3.3 kW, cash
Export rules for Cherryland Electric Cooperative customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (Michigan rule).
Michigan's IOUs use a 'distributed generation' inflow/outflow tariff: you save the full retail rate on solar you use directly, but power sent to the grid is credited only at roughly the power-supply portion of the rate (about 8-15 cents depending on rate/time).
Solar for a typical Cherryland Electric Cooperative home
| System | 3.3 kW (50% of 706 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $12,740 |
| First-year savings | $667 |
| Payback | 17.5 years |
| 25-year net | $7,551 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 194
- Share of customers
- 0.6%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 35,548
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Cherryland Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Cherryland Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Cherryland Electric Cooperative follows Michigan's rules: Michigan's IOUs use a 'distributed generation' inflow/outflow tariff: you save the full retail rate on solar you use directly, but power sent to the grid is credited only at roughly the power-supply portion of the rate (about 8-15 cents depending on rate/time).
How much does electricity cost with Cherryland Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 17.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 18.2¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 706 kWh a month, a bill of about $128.
Is solar worth it with Cherryland Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is not worth it: a 3.3 kW system costing about $12,740 pays back in about 17.5 years, with $7,551 net over 25 years.
How many Cherryland Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 194 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.6% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Cherryland Electric Coop Inc (EIA ID 3436). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.