Pattern Energy Group (Pattern Energy), a leader in clean energy and transmission infrastructure, announced that SunZia, the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in U.S. history is fully operational. The SunZia project can generate and deliver more power than the Hoover Dam and supply affordable, reliable energy to the western United States.
“SunZia proves that we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs,” said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy. “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 approximately 3,650-megawatt (MW) wind project and 550-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that comprise SunZia are generating and delivering affordable, American-made energy from New Mexico to Arizona and to customers across the western grid. At full capacity, the project can deliver enough energy to power approximately one million American homes annually.
“SunZia becoming fully operational is a milestone more than 18 years in the making and one that I’ve been fighting for since I first came to Congress,” said U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico. “Through a whole series of obstacles spanning over a decade and a half, we kept working to move it forward because we knew what it could mean for America’s energy future and New Mexico’s role in leading it. Now, New Mexico is home to one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in the Western Hemisphere.”
SunZia is meeting surging energy demand with new interregional transmission infrastructure that can deliver reliable, affordable energy. 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. SunZia represents the kind of long-term infrastructure investment needed to serve customers today and prepare the grid for the future.”
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. The facility will invest over $20 billion in New Mexico and Arizona communities including $1.3 billion in direct payments to local governments, schools, counties and private landowners over the first 30 years of operations.
“The benefits of this project will be felt in our communities for years to come,” said Barbara Sultemeier, Board Member for the Corona Landowner’s Association through the Lincoln County Community Foundation. “SunZia is supporting local jobs, strengthening the local tax base and creating long-term investment that can help support schools, public services, landowners and families across the region. For communities like ours, that kind of sustained economic impact matters.”
SunZia also demonstrates what private industry can deliver when it takes on complex infrastructure challenges with discipline and responsibility. The fully contracted project advanced through years of development, permitting, financing, construction and community engagement, requiring close coordination among private companies, local governments, state and federal agencies, landowners and energy customers.
“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,” said Hunter Armistead.
