Community & shared solar
Estimate your bill credit savings as a member of a rural electric cooperative, plus any estimated patronage capital credit.
How it works
Step 1
Contact your cooperative directly for the credit rate, discount, and any program details, since these are set by your specific co-op rather than a private market of competing providers. Check the eligibility checker tool if you're not yet sure a program is available to you.
Step 2
Your co-op can typically tell you what percentage of member payments has historically been allocated back as patronage capital, giving you a more realistic estimate than a guess. Compare the underlying terms against the provider comparison tool if a private provider option is also available in your area.
A rural electric cooperative is owned by the members it serves rather than outside investors, which means any margins generated, including from a community solar program, ultimately belong to the membership rather than shareholders. This structural difference is why co-op members sometimes see benefits, like patronage capital, that subscribers of an investor-owned utility's private provider programs don't receive. The DSIRE database keeps the current program details, and it is worth a look before you decide.
Patronage capital represents each member's share of the co-op's margins, allocated based on how much they paid the co-op over a given period. It's typically held by the co-op for a number of years before being paid out, called retirement of capital credits, at the board's discretion based on the co-op's financial position. This isn't a fixed annual dividend and can vary significantly year to year and co-op to co-op, similar to how the annual true-up estimator covers another form of variable, program-specific settlement. A rural credit union financing a system can offer a similar member-benefit structure, covered by the credit union versus national lender rate comparison.
As a cooperative member, you typically have voting rights in electing the board that oversees decisions like whether to develop a community solar program and how it's structured. This gives members a level of influence over their electricity provider that customers of investor-owned utilities generally don't have, similar to the governance role covered in the HOA feasibility tool for a different kind of shared governance. The Department of Energy's community solar basics guide covers the standard subscription structure a co-op program typically builds on.
Confirm your specific co-op actually offers a community solar program, since not every rural cooperative has developed one, and ask about both the subscription terms and the co-op's typical patronage capital allocation and payout schedule. Compare the underlying bill credit terms against the subscription savings calculator for a detailed breakdown of that portion alone. Rural interconnection can involve its own cost considerations too, covered by the grid interconnection cost estimator. Check the DSIRE database for any rural or cooperative-specific incentive programs in your state.
Questions
A rural electric cooperative is member-owned rather than investor-owned, so any community solar program it runs operates without a profit motive for outside shareholders. Members may also receive patronage capital credits, a return of the co-op's margins, which isn't something private provider subscribers typically receive.
Patronage capital is a portion of a cooperative's margins allocated back to members based on their usage, typically paid out over time at the co-op's discretion. It's a broader cooperative structure benefit rather than something specific to community solar, though your community solar subscription cost contributes to the co-op's overall margins like any other electricity purchase.
As a member-owner, you typically have voting rights in cooperative governance, including electing the board that oversees major decisions like a community solar program. This is a meaningful difference from a private provider, where subscribers have no ownership stake or voting influence.
No, only members served by a rural electric cooperative that has chosen to develop or partner on a community solar project have access to this specific structure. Many rural areas are served by cooperatives, but not all cooperatives currently offer a community solar program.