The 3.6GW SunZia wind farm is now producing power, marking the operationality of the biggest renewable energy project in in US history.
Connected to the grid by a 885km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line, SunZia is generating and delivering clean energy from New Mexico to Arizona and to customers across the western grid.
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Developer Pattern Energy Group says the SunZia project is capable of generating and delivering more power than the Hoover Dam.
“SunZia proves that we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs,” Pattern Energy CEO Hunter Armistead said.
“We did this the right way, we did it on time and on budget—in genuine partnership with the local communities and landowners who trusted us, with the environmental stewardship this unique landscape deserves, and with the determination to see something through that many thought was too big and too complex to finish.
“The result is historic energy infrastructure that will power millions of American homes and businesses for decades to come. This project sets a new standard for what is possible—and we intend to keep building on it,” Armistead said.
The project helps solve one of the central challenges facing the energy sector: not only building energy generation, but also the grid infrastructure needed to deliver that power.
At the center of that solution is SunZia’s HVDC transmission system, which moves large amounts of electricity efficiently across long distances. With major converter stations at each end of the line converting power for delivery and then back for use on the grid, SunZia is deploying one of the first major HVDC systems built in the United States in a generation—advanced infrastructure that can help define how America delivers power at scale.
“Large-scale transmission is essential to meeting the West’s growing energy needs and strengthening reliability across the grid,” said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator (ISO).
“Projects of this scale help deliver energy reliably to areas of rising demand, improve the movement of power across states and support a more resilient, flexible and affordable electric system.
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Construction on SunZia began in September 2023 and more than 2,000 quality jobs were supported at peak construction. The project will also create more than 100 permanent operations jobs in New Mexico and Arizona.
