Largest wind farm in U.S. begins commercial operation in New Mexico

SunZia, the largest wind farm in the U.S., started commercial operations this month in New Mexico.  The project is in the counties of Lincoln, San Miguel and Torrance.  It is comprised of 916 wind turbines with a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts.  Most of the electricity generated will be exported with high-voltage transmission lines to Arizona and southern California.

Pattern Energy Group said Thursday SunZia is fully operational.  Pattern started construction of SunZia in 2023 after almost two decades of planning and permitting.  Before SunZia, net summer wind generating capacity in New Mexico totaled 3,997 megawatts.  The new capacity from SunZia brings the total wind capacity in New Mexico to 7,647 megawatts.  Wind now accounts for 45 percent of the capacity mix in the state followed by 19 percent each from solar and natural gas.

Hunter Armistead, CEO, said, “SunZia proves we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs.”  Senator Martin Heinrich added, “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.”

Pattern Energy – with headquarters in Houston, San Francisco and Toronto – is one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of clean energy and transmission infrastructure.