# Chippewa County, Minnesota: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Montevideo and Clara City

Chippewa County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Chippewa County is home to Montevideo, Clara City, part of Granite Falls (925 of its 2,691 residents) and Sparta Township. Construction employs 295, up 37.9% since 2019. Electrical contractors employ 38, up 46.2% since 2019 against up 13.6% statewide, at an average $91,793 a year. Employers here counted 5,136 jobs in 2025, down 10.6% from 2019. Unemployment was 5.3% in August 2026, against 4.2% in 2019.

-10.6%
total jobs since 2019, now 5,136

66 MW
of operating power plants, mostly wind

16.98¢
per kWh for Northern States Power Co - Minnesota residential customers, 2024

## Cities and towns in Chippewa County

Chippewa County is home to Montevideo, Clara City, part of Granite Falls (925 of its 2,691 residents) and Sparta Township.

Montevideo5,335 residents
Clara City1,397 residents
Granite Falls925 residents · 34% of the city
Sparta Township732 residents
Milan418 residents
Rosewood Township316 residents
Maynard304 residents
Rheiderland Township292 residents
Big Bend Township249 residents
Louriston Township249 residents
Leenthrop Township241 residents
Lone Tree Township241 residents
Granite Falls Township219 residents
Woods Township212 residents
Crate Township197 residents
Stoneham Township195 residents
Tunsberg Township188 residents
Watson174 residents
Havelock Township149 residents
Mandt Township149 residents
Kragero Township122 residents
Grace Township102 residents
- Granite Falls also extends into [Yellow Medicine County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/yellow-medicine-county).

Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities.

## What changed in Chippewa County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Minnesota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 12,606 | 12,406 | ▼ 1.6% | 61st of 87 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 5,747 | 5,136 | ▼ 10.6% | 82nd of 87 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $40,232 | $54,922 | ▲ 36.5% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 214 | 295 | ▲ 37.9% | 5th of 72 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 26 | 38 | ▲ 46.2% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.2% | 5.3% | ▲ 1.1pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 9 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |

9 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Its power plants have 66 MW of capacity, 68% of it wind. Northern States Power Co - Minnesota is the largest utility serving Chippewa County, one of 8 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 16.98¢/kWh in 2024, above the 14.36¢ median for Minnesota utilities. 12,406 people live here, down 1.6% since 2020.

## Who powers Chippewa County

### Utilities with service territory in Chippewa County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern States Power Co - Minnesota | Investor Owned | Bundled | 1,230,057 | 16.98¢ | 44% |
| Otter Tail Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 50,118 | 11.33¢ | 37% |
| Minnesota Valley Coop L&P Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 4,931 | 12.22¢ | 8% |
| Agralite Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 4,333 | 13.94¢ | 28% |
| City of Granite Falls - (MN) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kandiyohi Power Coop | — | — | — | — | — |
| Renville-Sibley Coop Pwr Assn | — | — | — | — | — |
| WAPA-- Western Area Power Administration | Federal | Bundled | — | — | 100% |

Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers.

### Operating power plants 

| Technology | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 45 MW | 68% |
| Solar | 20 MW | 30% |
| Hydro | 1 MW | 2% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer's Creek Wind Farm, LLC | Palmer's Creek Wind Farm, LLC | Wind | 45 MW | 2018 |
| Taurus Community Solar | Taurus Community Solar | Solar | 4 MW | 2018 |
| Crater Community Solar | Crater Community Solar | Solar | 3 MW | 2017 |
| Centaurus Community Solar | Centaurus Community Solar | Solar | 2 MW | 2017 |
| Granite Falls | City of Granite Falls - (MN) | Hydro | 1 MW | 1932 |
| Andresen Solar | Ballantyne LLC | Solar | 1 MW | 2023 |

## The Chippewa County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 5,136 | $54,922 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 295 | $87,558 | 1.08 |
| Electrical contractors | 38 | $91,793 | 1.03 |

Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out.

## Data centers and local rules in Chippewa County

No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Chippewa County. Minnesota has 25 local measures on record statewide.

## Chippewa County and its neighbors

Of the 5 counties that border Chippewa County, Renville County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined.

[[[[[

| County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chippewa County | 12,406 | ▼ 10.6% | 66 MW | — | — | — |
| Kandiyohi County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/kandiyohi-county) | 44,720 | ▼ 3.3% | 26 MW | 1 MW | — | — |
| Lac qui Parle County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/lac-qui-parle-county) | 6,704 | ▼ 3.3% | — | — | — | — |
| Renville County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/renville-county) | 14,356 | ▼ 2.7% | 38 MW | — | — | — |
| Swift County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/swift-county) | 9,763 | ▲ 2.2% | 9 MW | — | — | — |
| Yellow Medicine County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/yellow-medicine-county) | 9,477 | ▼ 10.9% | 14 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Minnesota

[All Minnesota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota)[Kandiyohi County44,720 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/kandiyohi-county)[Renville County14,356 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/renville-county)[Swift County9,763 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/swift-county)[Yellow Medicine County9,477 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/yellow-medicine-county)[Lac qui Parle County6,704 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/lac-qui-parle-county)

## Chippewa County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Chippewa County, Minnesota?

8 utilities have service territory in Chippewa County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Northern States Power Co - Minnesota, Otter Tail Power Co, Minnesota Valley Coop L&P Assn, Agralite Electric Coop. The largest, Northern States Power Co - Minnesota, charged residential customers 16.98¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Chippewa County?

16 operating plants with 66 MW of capacity. The largest is Palmer's Creek Wind Farm, LLC (45 MW, wind).

### Are there data centers in Chippewa County?

The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Chippewa County.

### Is Chippewa County adding jobs?

Employers counted 5,136 jobs in 2025 against 5,747 in 2019 (-10.6%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 214 to 295.

### Does Chippewa County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Chippewa County. Minnesota has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

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Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/chippewa-county
Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).