Pattern Energy''s SunZia Wind – a 3.5 gigawatt onshore wind project across Lincoln, San Miguel and Torrance counties in New Mexico – is set to begin commercial operations as early as June 15. When online, SunZia will be the largest onshore wind farm in the Western Hemisphere, capable of powering roughly one million homes per year.
An $11 billion build-out
The roughly $11 billion project pairs the wind farm with SunZia Transmission, a 550-mile high-voltage DC line that carries clean power into Arizona and on to California. Vestas supplied 242 V163-4.5 MW turbines for the project, and final commissioning has progressed in parallel with HVDC line tie-ins.
A milestone for U.S. wind
SunZia is one of two utility-scale wind projects expected to lift U.S. wind capacity additions to 11.8 GW in 2026 – more than double last year''s pace, according to EIA data. Overall, developers plan 86 GW of new generating capacity in 2026, with solar at 51% and battery storage at 28% of additions.
Implications for AI infrastructure
SunZia''s timing aligns with surging power demand from AI data centres. Meta inked a 1 GW long-duration storage deal earlier this week, and Google has signalled new investments in battery and clean firm power. Pattern Energy says SunZia''s firmed offtake portfolio is dominated by hyperscalers and corporates with science-based decarbonisation targets.
Local impact
Construction created approximately 2,000 temporary jobs and 150 permanent roles in New Mexico. Pattern is now scoping a second phase of expansion that would add storage and a transmission upgrade along the SunZia corridor.
Reporting based on coverage from Bloomberg, Electrek, pv magazine USA and Pattern Energy.