Shelby Energy Cooperative and solar
Shelby Energy Cooperative is an electric cooperative serving about 17,245 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.)
- 14.8¢6% above Kentucky average
- Typical bill
- $1891,275 kWh a month
- Exports credited
- ~51%Net billing (reduced export credit)
- Typical payback
- 17.3 yrs5.7 kW, cash
Export rules for Shelby Energy 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 Shelby Energy Cooperative home
| System | 5.7 kW (50% of 1,275 kWh/month) |
|---|---|
| Cost | $16,895 |
| First-year savings | $989 |
| Payback | 17.3 years |
| 25-year net | $9,492 |
Uses the utility's average price.
Solar adoption
- Homes with solar (2025)
- 169
- Share of customers
- 1.0%
- Residential solar capacity
- 2 MW
- Residential customers
- 17,245
EIA-861, 2025.
Questions about Shelby Energy Cooperative and solar
Does Shelby Energy Cooperative have net metering?
Shelby Energy 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 Shelby Energy Cooperative?
Residential customers paid an average of 14.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA), about 14.8¢ adjusted to 2026. The typical home uses 1,275 kWh a month, a bill of about $189.
Is solar worth it with Shelby Energy Cooperative?
For a typical customer, solar is not worth it: a 5.7 kW system costing about $16,895 pays back in about 17.3 years, with $9,492 net over 25 years.
How many Shelby Energy Cooperative customers have solar?
About 169 homes had net-metered solar at the end of 2025, roughly 1.0% of residential customers (EIA-861).
Legal name: Shelby Energy Coop, Inc - (KY) (EIA ID 17044). Data: EIA-861 2025 and monthly data through 2026, state policy research October 2026.