The US’s largest clean energy project is generating power [update]
Vestas finished installing its wind turbines at Pattern Energy’s SunZia, the largest clean energy project in the US, last month, and the wind farm has now come online.
April 17, 2026: SunZia Wind has begun testing its turbines as it nears the start of commercial operations in Q2 2025, E&E reported yesterday. Grid Status first reported the news.
Neither the project developer, Pattern Energy, nor the California grid operator has publicized the milestone, and it’s unclear exactly how much power is being transmitted at this time.
On April 13, CAISO, California’s grid, sent a transmission control agreement letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about Sun Zia.
Once SunZia wind is fully online, it will be able to generate enough electricity to supply 3 million people, or roughly 1 million to 1.2 million households in California and Arizona.
March 5, 2026: Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas installed 242 V163-4.5 MW wind turbines at the 3.5 GW wind farm, which, with 916 turbines in total, is the largest onshore wind farm in the US. It’s built across New Mexico’s counties of Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel. The wind farm also features 674 GE Vernova 3.6-154 turbines, completed in February, and 10 substations.
The largest clean energy project in the US comprises two arms: SunZia Wind and SunZia Transmission. The latter is a 550-mile (885 km) ± 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona. When complete, it will have the capacity to transport 3,000 MW of clean energy to the CAISO grid.
SunZia Transmission will enable SunZia Wind to supply customers during the early evening hours, when demand is high but renewable energy supply is low. It’s going to use the same corridor as the Western Spirit Transmission Line:
The next step in the project will be commissioning the turbines and connecting them to the SunZia Transmission line. The $8 billion project is expected to achieve commercial operation this year.
Read more: South Dakota just approved its largest wind farm ever
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