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

Home to Windom and Mountain Lake

No data center or power plant project is on record in Cottonwood County, but the national build-out still reaches it through its utility bill, its labor market and the projects next door. Construction employs 319, up 43.7% since 2019. Cottonwood County is home to Windom, Mountain Lake and Westbrook. 200 MW of new generation is planned here across 1 unit, led by Geronimo Power (wind), the 4th largest pipeline among Minnesota's counties. Unemployment was 5.5% in August 2026, against 3.8% in 2019. 6 MW has retired here since 2019, including Windom (petroleum, 3 MW, 2022).

200 MW
of new generation planned here, wind leading

6 MW
of generating capacity retired since 2019

-6.1%
total jobs since 2019, now 4,821

## Cities and towns in Cottonwood County

Cottonwood County is home to Windom, Mountain Lake and Westbrook.

Windom4,817 residents
Mountain Lake1,949 residents
Westbrook736 residents
Jeffers340 residents
Mountain Lake Township310 residents
Great Bend Township309 residents
Carson Township276 residents
Lakeside Township239 residents
Midway Township229 residents
Storden215 residents
Westbrook Township198 residents
Germantown Township168 residents
Selma Township167 residents
Storden Township165 residents
Ann Township156 residents
Highwater Township144 residents
Dale Township141 residents
Amboy Township136 residents
Bingham Lake135 residents
Delton Township125 residents
Rose Hill Township125 residents
Amo Township120 residents
Springfield Township117 residents
Southbrook Township74 residents

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 Cottonwood County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Minnesota |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 11,517 | 11,405 | ▼ 1.0% | 65th of 87 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 5,136 | 4,821 | ▼ 6.1% | 75th of 87 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $39,109 | $50,647 | ▲ 29.5% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 222 | 319 | ▲ 43.7% | 4th of 72 by growth |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.8% | 5.5% | ▲ 1.7pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 6 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 6 MW |  | — |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 200 MW | 65% of today's fleet | 4th of 15 by size |

Employers here counted 4,821 jobs in 2025, down 6.1% from 2019. Owners plan to retire 5 MW more by 2035, led by Mountain Lake in 2026. 6 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly petroleum. Its power plants have 306 MW of capacity, 94% of it wind. Electrical contractors employ 42, at an average $57,857 a year. Federated Rural Electric Assn is the largest utility serving Cottonwood County, one of 8 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 11.64¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.36¢ median for Minnesota utilities. 11,405 people live here, down 1.0% since 2020.

## Who powers Cottonwood County

### Utilities with service territory in Cottonwood County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federated Rural Electric Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 5,727 | 11.64¢ | 17% |
| South Central Electric Assn | Cooperative | Bundled | 4,665 | 15.20¢ | 23% |
| Brown County Rural Elec Assn | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Mountain Lake - (MN) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nobles Cooperative Electric | — | — | — | — | — |
| Redwood Electric Coop | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Westbrook | — | — | — | — | — |
| City of Windom | — | — | — | — | — |

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 | 287 MW | 94% |
| Petroleum | 18 MW | 6% |
| Natural gas | 1 MW | 0% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odell Wind Farm | Algonquin Power Co | Wind | 200 MW | 2016 |
| Jeffers Wind 20 LLC | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota | Wind | 50 MW | 2008 |
| Odin Wind Farm LLC | Aspenall Energies (Delaware), LLC | Wind | 20 MW | 2008 |
| Windom Wind Project | Midwest Power Partners LLC | Wind | 16 MW | 2006 |
| Windom | City of Windom (MN) | Petroleum | 12 MW | 2001 |
| Mountain Lake | City of Mountain Lake - (MN) | Petroleum | 6 MW | 1959 |

### Planned generation 

| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plum Creek | Onshore Wind Turbine | 200 MW | Approvals pending | 2028 | Geronimo Power |

### Retired since 2019

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windom | Petroleum | 3 MW | 2022 |
| Mountain Lake | Petroleum | 2 MW | 2023 |
| Mountain Lake | Natural gas | 1 MW | 2026 |

### Scheduled to retire

| Plant | Technology | MW | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Lake | Petroleum | 4 MW | 2026 |
| Mountain Lake | Natural gas | 1 MW | 2026 |

## The Cottonwood County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 4,821 | $50,647 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 319 | $64,490 | 1.25 |
| Electrical contractors | 42 | $57,857 | 1.21 |

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 Cottonwood County

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

## Cottonwood County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Cottonwood County, Nobles 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood County | 11,405 | ▼ 6.1% | 306 MW | 200 MW | — | — |
| Brown County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/brown-county) | 25,517 | ▼ 4.7% | 99 MW | — | — | — |
| Jackson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/jackson-county) | 9,857 | ▼ 5.6% | 359 MW | — | — | — |
| Murray County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/murray-county) | 7,942 | ▼ 2.9% | 359 MW | — | — | — |
| Nobles County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/nobles-county) | 22,338 | ▼ 4.8% | 509 MW | — | — | — |
| Redwood County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/redwood-county) | 15,265 | ▼ 0.7% | 30 MW | — | — | — |
| Watonwan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/watonwan-county) | 11,459 | ▲ 2.6% | 24 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Minnesota

[All Minnesota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota)[Brown County25,517 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/brown-county)[Nobles County22,338 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/nobles-county)[Redwood County15,265 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/redwood-county)[Watonwan County11,459 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/watonwan-county)[Jackson County9,857 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/jackson-county)

## Cottonwood County, answered from the record

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

8 utilities have service territory in Cottonwood County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Federated Rural Electric Assn, South Central Electric Assn, Brown County Rural Elec Assn, City of Mountain Lake - (MN). The largest, Federated Rural Electric Assn, charged residential customers 11.64¢/kWh on average in 2024.

### What power plants are in Cottonwood County?

7 operating plants with 306 MW of capacity. The largest is Odell Wind Farm (200 MW, wind).

### How much new power is planned in Cottonwood County?

200 MW across 1 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Geronimo Power.

### Are there data centers in Cottonwood County?

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

### Is Cottonwood County adding jobs?

Employers counted 4,821 jobs in 2025 against 5,136 in 2019 (-6.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 222 to 319.

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

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

---
Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/cottonwood-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/).