Fargo Solar Permit Guide

01 / Know your path

Two approvals.
One project.

A local permit and utility permission to operate are different approvals. Check the local sequence and requirements below.

02 / Prepare your application

What you need.

• City of Fargo electrical permit application, with a schematic drawing showing circuitry, wire size, and overcurrent protection detailsRequired when: always; owner self-wiring is restricted to owner-occupants of single-family homes (not rentals, daycares, or mobile homes) and must be personally performed by the owner
• Cass County Electric Cooperative DER Interconnection Request ApplicationRequired when: always
• Site diagram (to scale, showing DER location, meter location(s), Utility AC Disconnect location, PCC/RPA/PoC location, and underground/overhead wire routing)Required when: always
• One-line diagram (applicant name, application ID, installer contact info, project address, equipment positions and distances, equipment labeling, total aggregated AC nameplate rating, DER protection elements)Required when: always; must be signed and stamped by a North Dakota Professional Electrical Engineer if the DER exceeds 20kW and is uncertified, or exceeds 250kW and is certified
• Manufacturer specification sheets for certified equipment (inverters must be UL 1741 listed)Required when: always
• Written testing procedure and results, including anti-island test verificationRequired when: always, prior to Parallel Operation Permission

Permit fees

• North Dakota State Electrical Board statewide inspection fee (assessed on inspector-determined work value): $50 (minimum fee, for work valued up to $500; $50 plus 2% of the balance up to $20,000, then $440 plus 0.1% of the balance over $20,000)

  Per the North Dakota State Electrical Board's own published Inspection Fees schedule (effective 2024-07-01). Per the City of Fargo's own page, the City itself does not set or collect this fee — the on-site inspector assesses the work's value and the State Electrical Board bills the homeowner directly. This is a statewide fee, not solar-specific; no separate solar/PV line item is published.

Rebates on record

Utility and generation supplier

Permit authority

Inspection steps

• The Interconnection Customer performs pre-energization testing (grounding verification, CT/VT testing where applicable, breaker/switch tests, relay tests, phase tests, and a synchronizing test if applicable), which the Area EPS Operator has the right to witness
• An anti-island field test is performed at energization: the DER is placed into normal operation and verified to be energized and generating; the Area EPS source is then removed (one phase at a time for multiphase systems) and the DER must be verified to separate from the Area EPS or stop operating; the DER is then reconnected, and generation must not parallel with the Area EPS for a period of less than 5 minutes
• Installation verification confirms the DER matches the approved one-line diagram, has proper labeling of disconnects/meters/placards, and that settings/firmware match previously approved values

Eligibility constraints

• Property types: residential
• Max system size (AC): 20 kW
• Max system size (DC): Not yet verified.
• Max thermal capacity: Not yet verified.
• Program/pathway: Tier I (Solar Systems Less than 20kW) interconnection pathway under Cass County Electric Cooperative's Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection Process, which applies generally to any DER up to 10MW-AC but provides simplified documentation requirements for certified-inverter systems under 20kW.
• Other conditions:
  • Systems 0-40kW require no DER remote monitoring or remote control by the utility; monitoring and control requirements increase substantially above that threshold.
  • The Utility AC Disconnect must be located within 10 feet of the revenue meter, installed at a minimum height of 3 feet from the ground (a more remote location requires a permanently affixed placard and Area EPS Operator approval).
  • All inverter-based DER units must be UL 1741 certified; certified DER under 250kW generally does not require Professional Engineer review of the inverter's protective functions.
  • In Fargo, an owner may self-wire only as the owner-occupant of a single-family home; all other installers must be licensed contractors.

Official contacts

Official sources

Frequently Asked Questions

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