Minnesota

Buying Land in Lincoln County, Minnesota

Lincoln County, seat Ivanhoe, is a southwestern Minnesota county sitting on Buffalo Ridge, the glacial moraine that makes this corner of the state one of the windiest in the Midwest. Zoning here runs through the county's Comprehensive Development Ordinance No. 40, covering the usual shoreland, feedlot, and drainage topics -- but the county also runs a distinct Windpower Management Ordinance for smaller turbines, and hosts utility-scale projects large enough that Lincoln County now reportedly receives more wind-related revenue than any other county in Minnesota, surpassing longtime leader Mower County.

Lincoln County Now Leads Minnesota Counties in Wind-Related Revenue

Could not confirm

Lincoln County sits on Buffalo Ridge, a roughly 60-mile glacial-moraine corridor across southwest Minnesota's Lincoln, Pipestone, Murray, Nobles, and Rock counties that by 2022 held over 1,000 wind turbines regionally. Within Lincoln County specifically, utility-scale projects include the 109 MW Buffalo Ridge Wind project and the 200 MW Red Pine Wind project, and per reporting the county now ranks first in Minnesota for wind-related revenue, surpassing Mower County's longtime lead. For a land buyer, that means wind development -- existing turbines, transmission infrastructure, and potential future projects -- is a live consideration almost anywhere in the county, not a remote possibility; it can affect everything from a parcel's view and noise environment to whether it sits within an existing or proposed wind-lease footprint. Confirm with the county and, for larger projects, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's Energy Infrastructure Permitting docket system whether a specific parcel or its neighbors are part of an active project area.

The County Runs Its Own Windpower Ordinance for Smaller Turbines

Generally favorable

Lincoln County's Environmental Office administers a Windpower Management Ordinance specifically for small wind energy conversion systems (SWECS) rated under 5 MW -- including setback requirements such as a 250-foot minimum for permanent meteorological towers from public road rights-of-way and site boundaries (or the county's own meteorological-tower ordinance standard, whichever is more restrictive). Large wind energy conversion systems (LWECS) instead fall under Minnesota Public Utilities Commission site-permit authority rather than purely county zoning. For a buyer who might want to install a personal or farm-scale turbine, or who wants to understand the setback protections that apply to a neighboring small turbine, the county's own Windpower Management Ordinance -- not the state's utility-scale LWECS process -- is the relevant framework; confirm current setback figures directly with the Environmental Office.

General Zoning Runs Through a Single Comprehensive Development Ordinance

Generally favorable

Lincoln County's Environmental Office administers Comprehensive Development Ordinance No. 40 (2009), which covers shoreland management, feedlots, aquatic invasive species, buffer-strip enforcement, public drainage systems, solid waste/recycling, and septic systems under one umbrella ordinance, along with the separate Windpower Management Ordinance discussed above. This consolidated structure means most zoning, shoreland, feedlot, and septic questions for a Lincoln County parcel go to the same office -- a practical convenience for due diligence, though it doesn't change the substance of the standards, which should still be confirmed parcel by parcel.

Zoning: a single Comprehensive Development Ordinance, plus a distinct wind energy layer

Lincoln County's Environmental Office administers Comprehensive Development Ordinance No. 40, adopted in 2009, which sets shoreland lot-area, lot-width, and ordinary-high-water-level setback standards consistent with the statewide Rule 6120 shoreland floor described on our Minnesota state page, alongside provisions covering feedlots, aquatic invasive species, buffer-strip enforcement, public drainage systems, and septic systems. The same office handles Land Use Permit applications for the county generally.

What sets Lincoln County apart is wind energy. The county sits on Buffalo Ridge, a glacial-moraine corridor running through several southwest Minnesota counties that is one of the best wind resources in the Midwest and, regionally, held over 1,000 wind turbines as of 2022. Within Lincoln County, the Environmental Office administers a separate Windpower Management Ordinance for small wind energy conversion systems under 5 MW (with meteorological-tower setbacks of at least 250 feet from public road rights-of-way and site boundaries), while larger utility-scale projects -- like the county's existing 109 MW Buffalo Ridge Wind project and 200 MW Red Pine Wind project -- instead go through Minnesota Public Utilities Commission site-permit review rather than purely local zoning. Reporting indicates Lincoln County has become the Minnesota county receiving the largest amount of wind-related revenue, ahead of longtime leader Mower County -- a strong signal of how significant wind development already is to the local land-use and tax picture.

What this means for a land buyer, and where wetlands are handled

For anyone evaluating rural land in Lincoln County, wind development should be treated as a standard due-diligence item rather than an edge case: confirm whether a target parcel is within an existing wind-lease area, an active project's site-permit boundary, or a proposed future project footprint, and understand what that means for turbine proximity, transmission-line easements, access roads, and any lease payments that might run with (or separately from) the land. The county's Environmental Office and the Minnesota PUC's Energy Infrastructure Permitting system (which tracks LWECS projects by docket) are both useful sources for current project boundaries.

Wetland Conservation Act determinations in Lincoln County are handled by the Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District rather than directly by the county's Environmental Office -- a common Minnesota arrangement (also true in neighboring Lyon County, covered elsewhere on this platform). For any parcel with a pond, low area, or seasonally wet ground, route the wetland question to the Lincoln SWCD specifically.

What we could and couldn't confirm

Lincoln County's Comprehensive Development Ordinance No. 40, its Windpower Management Ordinance for SWECS under 5 MW, and the 250-foot meteorological-tower setback figure are drawn from the county's own ordinance documents and PUC filing text referencing county meteorological-tower standards. The 109 MW Buffalo Ridge Wind and 200 MW Red Pine Wind project capacities, and Lincoln County's status as the state's top wind-revenue county surpassing Mower County, are drawn from Minnesota Department of Commerce PUC docket filings and industry/news reporting; the specific 'surpassing Mower County' revenue-ranking claim traces to a search-summarized news source and should be reconfirmed against a primary state revenue report before being treated as precise. Lincoln SWCD's role as the county's WCA local government unit is drawn from the SWCD's own programs page.

Verify directly with: Lincoln County Environmental Office for zoning, shoreland, feedlot, and Windpower Management Ordinance questions; the Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District for Wetland Conservation Act determinations; the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's Energy Infrastructure Permitting system for current utility-scale wind project boundaries; and the Lincoln County Assessor and Recorder for parcel-specific tax and title history

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Lincoln County

We could not confirm a direct phone number for the Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District beyond its website; a website contact form or the county Environmental Office (which shares office space with several county departments in Ivanhoe) may be the most reliable way to reach them if the website itself does not list a working number. We could not confirm a direct email for the Environmental Office, Assessor, or Recorder beyond the phone numbers and websites listed. For current wind-lease or project-boundary information tied to a specific parcel, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's Energy Infrastructure Permitting docket system is a useful supplementary source we did not include as a listed contact here since it is a state, not county, resource.

Planning & Zoning

Lincoln County Environmental Office

Zoning district confirmation, shoreland classification, feedlot, and Windpower Management Ordinance (small wind energy conversion system) questions for a specific parcel.

Phone: (507) 694-1344Official website →

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