Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative and solar
Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 36,631 homes in Kentucky. Here's what its rates and export rules mean for solar: for a typical customer, solar is not worth it.
- Average price (2026 est.)
- 13.6¢3% below Kentucky average
- Typical bill
- $1561,151 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~55%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 18.9 yrs5.1 kW, cash
Export rules for Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative customers
Net billing (reduced export credit) (Kentucky rule).
Kentucky requires net metering for systems up to 45 kW, but since SB 100 (2019) the PSC sets the export credit in each utility's rate case. For the big investor-owned utilities, power you send to the grid earns a bill credit of roughly 7-10 cents/kWh, well below the retail rate.
Solar for a typical Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative home
| System | 5.1 kW (50% of 1,151 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $15,485 |
| First-year savings | $828 |
| Payback | 18.9 years |
| 25-year net | $6,194 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 267
- Share of customers
- 0.7%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 36,631
EIA-861, 2025.
Cities served
Questions about Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative and solar
Does Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative have net metering?
Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative follows Kentucky's rules: Kentucky requires net metering for systems up to 45 kW, but since SB 100 (2019) the PSC sets the export credit in each utility's rate case. For the big investor-owned utilities, power you send to the grid earns a bill credit of roughly 7-10 cents/kWh, well below the retail rate.
How much does electricity cost with Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 13.6¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,151 kWh a month, a bill of about $156.
Is solar worth it with Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is not worth it: a 5.1 kW system costing about $15,485 pays back in about 18.9 years, with $6,194 net over 25 years.
How many Nolin Rural Electric Cooperative customers have solar?
About 267 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 0.7% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Nolin Rural Electric Coop Corp (EIA ID 13651). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.