Cass County Electric Cooperative distributed energy resources: tiers, fees and insurance

How the size is measured

the aggregated summation of the nameplate rating in alternating current of all components making up the system at a specific metering point. The process states outright that all capacity references are in alternating current, and says so twice. Solar and storage at one point of common coupling are aggregated.

Size bands and what each one obliges

Tier I, certified inverter only, up to 20 kW AC Size 0 to 20 kW	The maximum process fee is $250. Insurance is $300,000 at or below 40 kW AC, and below that line no additional insured endorsement is required, so a homeowner declaration page is a common example of an acceptable certificate. Self insurance is permitted with twenty days prior evidence. $250 maximum process fee $300,000 insurance Member pays additional costs for a multi channel bidirectional interval meter and any remote communication equipment
Tier III, all other types, above 20 kW to 10 MW AC Size 20.001 to 10000 kW	The maximum process fee is $250. Insurance rises to $1,000,000 above 40 kW AC with the cooperative named as an additional insured by endorsement. Supplemental review requires a deposit and any costs above it are due within 20 business days. Standby only systems without extended parallel operation fall under Tier II, which carries no charge. $250 maximum process fee $1,000,000 insurance with the cooperative as additional insured above 40 kW Supplemental review deposit where required

Tier I, certified inverter only, up to 20 kW AC Size 0 to 20 kW

The maximum process fee is $250. Insurance is $300,000 at or below 40 kW AC, and below that line no additional insured endorsement is required, so a homeowner declaration page is a common example of an acceptable certificate. Self insurance is permitted with twenty days prior evidence.

$250 maximum process fee
$300,000 insurance
Member pays additional costs for a multi channel bidirectional interval meter and any remote communication equipment

Tier III, all other types, above 20 kW to 10 MW AC Size 20.001 to 10000 kW

The maximum process fee is $250. Insurance rises to $1,000,000 above 40 kW AC with the cooperative named as an additional insured by endorsement. Supplemental review requires a deposit and any costs above it are due within 20 business days. Standby only systems without extended parallel operation fall under Tier II, which carries no charge.

$250 maximum process fee
$1,000,000 insurance with the cooperative as additional insured above 40 kW
Supplemental review deposit where required

The screens that decide it

Below the 40 kW AC net billing ceiling Limit 39.999 kW.
Net billing requires a renewable resource with a nameplate less than 40 kW AC behind the meter on the load side, and the technology must be one of the renewables named in North Dakota Century Code 49-02-25, so a standalone battery is outside the compensation program even though it is in scope for interconnection. There is no consumption cap: the cooperative answers directly that system size is not limited by usage up to 40 kW.
Fifteen percent of line section annual peak or 100 percent of substation minimum load 15 percent of line section peak load, a figure only the utility holds.
Aggregated generation on the circuit including the proposal may not exceed 15 percent of the line section annual peak load as most recently measured, or 100 percent of the substation aggregated minimum load, and the cooperative may use 100 percent of applicable loading such as daytime minimum load for solar instead.
Shared secondary and 240 volt imbalance limits, which catch residential jobs Limit 20 kW.
On a single phase shared secondary, aggregate generation including the proposal may not exceed 20 kW or 65 percent of the transformer nameplate rating. On a center tap neutral 240 volt service, the addition may not create an imbalance between the two sides of more than 20 percent of the service transformer nameplate. These are the two screens most likely to stop an ordinary residential job, and both need utility data.
Fault current, interrupting capability and network protector screens
Also published: a 10 percent fault current contribution limit, an 87.5 percent short circuit interrupting capability limit, a network protector screen at the smaller of 5 percent of network maximum load or 50 kW, and a grounding and line configuration screen. This is the fullest published screen set among the cooperatives in this region.

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

Is this service on a shared single phase secondary, and what is the transformer nameplate? The 20 kW or 65 percent test there is the most common stopper on a residential job.
What is the renewable energy rate that Minnkota pays? The published rates page lists only retail rates, and the policy says Minnkota pays the cooperative and the cooperative pays the member at the applicable renewable energy rate without stating it.

Worth knowing before you quote

Approval is first come first served and the member has twelve months from the approval date for the system to be operational. Published clocks are in business days: notice of receipt within 10, cure period 10, total review 25 plus 5, supplemental review results within 30 of the deposit, and agreement returned within 20. Two features an installer should disclose. Net billing does not travel: the provision stays with the initially approved service location and cannot be transferred to another site. And a system that goes non operational for a year can permanently lose net billing, because rejoining depends on feeder limitations at the net billed account locations and is not guaranteed. The member pays additional costs for the bidirectional interval meter and any remote communication equipment. Note that the wholesale supplier is Minnkota, not Basin Electric.

Source

Cass County Electric Cooperative Interconnection Process OP321-01 for Distributed Energy Resource Systems Less than 10 MW, with Net Billing Policy 325 adopted 25 September 2012 and last revised 27 June 2023

Read and recorded 2026-09-12. Rural electric cooperative. A North Dakota cooperative. This process document is a shared product used by seven North Dakota cooperatives, so the same terms are likely to answer for Burke-Divide, Capital, McLean, Nodak, North Central and Northern Plains as well. The wholesale supplier is Minnkota Power Cooperative.

All North Dakota interconnection rules

Size bands and what each one obliges

The screens that decide it

Ask the utility this, before you sell it

Worth knowing before you quote

What to do with this