Wind and Solar Energy Leasing in Swift County, Minnesota

How much land is already committed

As of the county's new energy ordinance taking effect in late 2025, Swift County had roughly 23,182 acres under lease for wind energy projects and another 3,640 acres under lease for solar -- a meaningful share of the county's land base already committed to energy development in some form. That figure will have grown since; a specific parcel's own lease status (or a neighboring parcel's) is not always obvious without checking recorded easements at the Recorder's Office, since a signed lease or easement doesn't necessarily change the parcel's appearance or its owner's day-to-day use of the land.

A new ordinance, adopted after two rejected moratorium proposals

Swift County's Board of Commissioners adopted the Wind, Solar, and Energy Storage Ordinance of Swift County by a 4-1 vote on October 21, 2025, governing projects under 25 megawatts. That vote came only after the board had twice previously rejected proposals to impose an outright moratorium on new wind and solar development -- and only after a public hearing at Benson High School's Performing Arts Center drew roughly 105 attendees, most of whom raised concerns about setbacks and other siting standards. In response to that input, commissioners revised the draft before final adoption, increasing setback protections in some areas while carving out lighter requirements for small, noncommercial systems.

The final ordinance ties turbine setback distance from residences to rotor size -- larger rotor diameters require proportionally greater setback distances -- rather than a single flat number for every turbine regardless of size. All setback and performance standards in the ordinance are stated as minimums, meaning a specific project's permit could carry stricter conditions but not looser ones. On decommissioning, any wind, solar, or energy storage project must post financial security (an escrow account or bond) equal to five times its projected decommissioning cost, calculated without crediting any expected salvage or resale value of the equipment -- and actual decommissioning must be completed within 12 months of a project ceasing commercial operation or being abandoned.

What's coming: a proposed 400-megawatt wind farm and a new transmission line

Two large infrastructure projects are moving through planning in western Swift County. Apex Clean Energy has proposed the Junegrass Wind project, potentially up to 88 turbines generating roughly 400 megawatts, using turbines described in reporting as nearly double the generating capacity of those currently operating in the area -- though as of this writing, current plans do not call for the first turbine to go up before 2030, so this is a long-horizon project rather than an imminent one. Separately, Otter Tail Power and Missouri River Energy Services have begun the permitting process for a new 345-kilovolt transmission line through the western part of the county, infrastructure generally needed to move power from larger wind and solar developments onto the regional grid. Both projects are early-stage: routes, final turbine counts, and in-service dates can all still change through the state permitting process at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

If you've been offered a lease, or are buying land already under one

A wind or solar lease offer or an existing lease on land you're considering both deserve the same basic diligence, adapted to which side of the transaction you're on. If you're the landowner being approached: understand that Swift County's ordinance sets the regulatory floor (setback, decommissioning security), not the lease's financial terms -- payment structure, term length, easement scope (does it cover just turbine pads, or also access roads, collector lines, and setback buffers on surrounding acreage?), and who bears decommissioning cost if the developer becomes insolvent are all matters of contract, not county ordinance, and are worth review by an attorney experienced in energy leases before signing. If you're buying land already subject to a recorded wind, solar, or transmission easement: pull the actual recorded document from the Swift County Recorder's Office rather than relying on a listing's summary -- confirm what portion of the parcel is actually restricted, whether the lease/easement transfers automatically to a new owner (most do, since they typically run with the land), what payments (if any) you'd be entitled to going forward, and whether the decommissioning security described in county ordinance is actually in place for that specific project.

If your parcel sits near, but not on, a proposed project like Junegrass Wind or the new transmission line corridor, ask Swift County Environmental Services whether any land use permit or conditional use permit application is pending nearby, and check the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's project docket for current routing -- both can shift a proposed project's footprint closer to or farther from a specific parcel well before construction.