Solar by state
Solar in North Dakota, by the numbers
Utilities and their rates, adoption, ten years of growth, batteries, ownership, state rules and installer licensing in North Dakota, from federal 2024 data.
North Dakota in brief
0.02% of North Dakota homes had rooftop solar in 2024, the 3rd-lowest of 51 (3.55% nationally). Power cost 11.51¢/kWh, below the national 16.48¢, and the average system was 12.59 kW. Northern States Power Company - Minnesota serves 20.9% of homes.
Where does North Dakota stand out?
The four measures, beyond price and adoption, on which North Dakota sits furthest from the middle of the ranking.
North Dakota solar in numbers, 2024
Every North Dakota figure next to the national one, with its place in the ranking (highest first, out of the jurisdictions reporting it).
| Measure | North Dakota | United States | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes with a metered rooftop system | 0.02% | 3.55% | 3rd-lowest of 51 |
| Rooftop systems counted | 81 | 5,077,543 | 2nd-lowest of 51 |
| Average system size | 12.59 kW | 6.74 kW | highest of 51 |
| Residential price | 11.51¢/kWh | 16.48¢/kWh | lowest of 51 |
| Average monthly bill | $118.38 | $142.26 | 14th-lowest of 51 |
| Use per home | 12,344 kWh/yr | 10,359 kWh/yr | 14th-highest of 51 |
| Systems with a battery | 0.00% | 5.86% | lowest of 47 |
| Leased or on a PPA | Not reported | 29.1% | No figure |
| Growth in systems, five years | 15.2% a year | — | 13th-lowest of 51 |
| Minutes without power per customer | 103 | 297 (median state) | 4th-lowest of 51 |
| Homes on a time-varying rate | 8.8% | 11.1% | 12th-highest of 51 |
| Installed rooftop capacity | 1.0 MW | 34,226 MW | — |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861, 2024 final release, retrieved 2 September 2026. The North Dakota ratios and ranks are HyreSolar calculations from EIA inputs.
Which utility serves North Dakota, and what does it charge?
The 8 largest utilities selling to North Dakota homes, by residential customers, with the price full-service customers paid and how many run net-metered solar.
| Utility | Type | Homes served | Price per kWh | Use per home, monthly | Net-metered systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern States Power Company - Minnesota | Investor-owned | 82,987 (20.9%) | 12.11¢ | 734 kWh | None reported |
| Montana-Dakota Utilities Company | Investor-owned | 79,354 (20.0%) | 11.72¢ | 806 kWh | None reported |
| Cass County Electric Co-op | Co-op | 51,968 (13.1%) | 12.45¢ | 988 kWh | 40 (0.08%) |
| Otter Tail Power Company | Investor-owned | 45,467 (11.4%) | 11.38¢ | 1,021 kWh | 3 (0.01%) |
| Nodak Electric Co-op | Co-op | 20,803 (5.2%) | 12.08¢ | 1,457 kWh | 14 (0.07%) |
| Capital Electric Co-op | Co-op | 19,530 (4.9%) | 12.31¢ | 1,012 kWh | None reported |
| Verendrye Electric Co-op | Co-op | 14,336 (3.6%) | 10.70¢ | 1,281 kWh | 8 (0.06%) |
| Mountrail-Williams Electric Co-op | Co-op | 11,405 (2.9%) | 7.24¢ | 1,422 kWh | 6 (0.05%) |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 2024, Sales to Ultimate Customers and Net Metering, utility level, retrieved 5 October 2026. Shares are of 397,839 North Dakota residential accounts. Each North Dakota price is residential revenue divided by sales for full-service customers (HyreSolar calculation); a wires company’s price is its default-service price.
What do the North Dakota utility figures mean for a solar quote?
EIA-861 lists 17 utilities serving homes in North Dakota in 2024, across 397,839 residential accounts. The three largest, Northern States Power Company - Minnesota, Montana-Dakota Utilities Company and Cass County Electric Co-op, served 53.9% of those homes. By ownership: investor-owned utilities 52.2%, electric cooperatives 41.8% and small utilities EIA counts as a group 6.0%.
All 397,839 North Dakota residential accounts bought energy from the utility that delivers it; EIA counted none on a competitive supplier. So a North Dakota utility’s own tariff sets both the price you avoid and the credit for what you export.
Northern States Power Company - Minnesota, the largest, served 82,987 North Dakota homes (20.9%). Its full-service residential customers paid 12.11¢ per kWh, above the North Dakota average of 11.51¢, and used 734 kWh a month on average.
EIA-861 lists no net-metered residential systems for Northern States Power Company - Minnesota in 2024, so ask it in writing how exported power is credited before sizing a system.
Among the 13 North Dakota utilities with at least 5,000 residential customers and a full-service price, the price ran from 7.24¢ at Mountrail-Williams Electric Co-op to 12.45¢ at Cass County Electric Co-op. At the North Dakota average of 12,344 kWh a year, that 5.21¢ gap is worth about $643 a year (our arithmetic), so the same system offsets more money in one territory than the other.
Price a quote on your own utility’s rate, not the 11.51¢ North Dakota average.
Rooftop solar is concentrated: Cass County Electric Co-op alone accounts for 40 net-metered residential systems, about 49% of the 81 counted in North Dakota, and 7 North Dakota utilities reported any at all.
What does power cost in North Dakota, and why does it matter?
Residential electricity in North Dakota averaged 11.51¢ per kilowatt-hour in 2024, the lowest of 51 and below the national 16.48¢. That is one of the lowest residential prices in the country. Each avoided kilowatt-hour is worth little, which can stretch payback in North Dakota whatever the sunshine.
The average North Dakota household bill was $118.38 a month ($1,421 a year), the 14th-lowest of 51, against $142.26 nationally. That $1,421 is the ceiling on what solar could save a typical North Dakota home, before fixed monthly charges.
Only 8.8% of North Dakota homes were on a time-varying rate in 2024 (11.1% nationally), so a flat rate is the likely starting point. 60.9% of North Dakota residential meters were smart meters (83.8% nationally), and a time-varying rate needs one. How time-of-use changes solar.
How many North Dakota homes have solar?
North Dakota had 81 rooftop systems on net metering in 2024, across 397,839 residential accounts: 0.02% of homes, the 3rd-lowest of 51. North Dakota is one of the least developed rooftop markets in the country. Expect few local installers and a permit office with little solar experience, and allow time for both.
The North Dakota market counted 13 more systems in 2024 than in 2023 and has grown 15.2% a year over five years, the 13th-lowest of 51. Where growth has turned nationally.
How has North Dakota solar changed since 2014?
North Dakota counted 22 net-metered rooftop systems in 2014 and 81 in 2024, 3.7 times as many. The share of homes with one moved from 0.01% to 0.02%. The biggest one-year addition came in 2024, with 13 more systems than the year before.
| Year | Rooftop systems | Share of homes | Average size | Residential price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 22 | 0.01% | 9.4 kW | 9.15¢ |
| 2016 | 27 | 0.01% | 8.6 kW | 10.16¢ |
| 2018 | 33 | 0.01% | 6.9 kW | 10.25¢ |
| 2020 | 43 | 0.01% | 7.1 kW | 10.44¢ |
| 2022 | 59 | 0.01% | 10.8 kW | 10.92¢ |
| 2024 | 81 | 0.02% | 12.6 kW | 11.51¢ |
Source: US EIA, Form EIA-861 annual files 2014–2024, net-metered residential systems, retrieved 2 September 2026. North Dakota shares and sizes are HyreSolar calculations.
What does the North Dakota trend mean for a savings estimate?
Over the same years the North Dakota residential price went from 9.15¢ to 11.51¢ per kWh, up 26%, and the average system from 9.4 kW to 12.6 kW.
A rate that has risen that far makes a 2024 bill a conservative base for a North Dakota savings estimate only if the trend continues, which nobody can promise.
How big is a typical North Dakota system?
The average North Dakota system was 12.59 kW in 2024, the highest of 51, against 6.74 kW nationally. North Dakota homes used 12,344 kilowatt-hours a year each, the 14th-highest of 51.
A North Dakota home using 12,344 kWh is an average, not a design input: size from your own twelve months of bills and usable roof with cost by system size and the system size calculator.
Who owns the systems in North Dakota?
Form EIA-861 reports no third-party-ownership split for the 81 systems counted in North Dakota in 2024, so we publish none rather than infer one.
Ask any North Dakota company in writing whether it is selling you the system or a lease or power purchase agreement; the owner of a North Dakota system is the one who claims any tax credit.
Do North Dakota homes add batteries?
In North Dakota, 0.00% of solar systems were paired with a battery in 2024, the lowest of 47. North Dakota’s share is well under half the national 5.86%.
On reliability, the average North Dakota customer went 103 minutes without power in 2024 counting major storms, and 87 minutes without them. The median state saw 297. Outages in every state.
Whether a battery pays in North Dakota turns on your utility’s export credit and your own outage history: what a home battery does.
Which North Dakota solar laws have we read?
North Dakota statutes we read ourselves. Any rule not listed here is one we have not read, not one that does not exist.
How long you have to cancel a contract
15 business days if you are 65 or over, otherwise 3, from entering the agreement, for solicitation sales above $50, including by telephone. This is the general home solicitation rule, which reaches solar sales.
N.D.C.C. § 51-18-02(1). Read at source September 2, 2026. Solar sales rules by state
How do you check a solar company’s license in North Dakota?
We found no dedicated state register for solar work in North Dakota, so we publish no company counts. That is not evidence of light regulation: electrical work can be licensed at state or local level even where solar is never named.
With 81 systems in North Dakota, the company quoting you may be based out of state. Ask which license it holds, in which state, and confirm it with that authority. What to do when the search comes back empty.
Which states are closest to North Dakota on adoption?
The six jurisdictions nearest to North Dakota’s 0.02% share of homes with rooftop solar.
Where do the North Dakota numbers come from?
The North Dakota figures are HyreSolar calculations from the Form EIA-861 annual files: 81 net-metered residential systems counted against 397,839 residential accounts, sizes as means, and 17 utility-level rows for the utility table, matched to net-metering records by EIA utility number.
The method and limits cover all 51; the North Dakota row is in the data as a CSV.
No North Dakota figure here is an estimate for one home: your roof, usage, utility tariff and tax position decide that.
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Questions
How many homes in North Dakota have solar?
What size solar system is typical in North Dakota?
Do North Dakota homeowners add batteries to solar?
Is North Dakota a good state for solar?
Which utility serves the most homes in North Dakota?
Can I cancel a solar contract in North Dakota?
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