SunZia Transmission Project fully operational
New Mexico – The SunZia Transmission Project, one of the largest energy infrastructure projects in the western hemisphere, became fully operational this week. US Senator Martin Heinrich praised the decades-long project as a milestone achievement for American-made energy.
“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 Senator Heinrich in a press release. “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.”
Pattern Energy claims the project can generate more power than the Hoover Dam, which has a generating capacity of approximately 2,080 MW.
“SunZia proves that we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs,” said Pattern Energy CEO Hunter Armistead. “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 project encompasses 550 mile of transmission line cutting through New Mexico's Torrance, Lincoln, and San Miguel Counties and is associated with 3,650 MW of installed wind-generation capacity. It is expected to generate an estimated $20.5 billion in economic benefits for New Mexico, creating more than 100 permanent jobs in operation.
The project is one of the largest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems ever built in the United States and is designed to move renewable energy generated in New Mexico to population centers in Arizona and California.
The transmission project is coupled with the SunZia Wind Project, the largest wind farm in the US, which will also begin commercial operations this month. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the wind farm has a total of 916 turbines – 214 turbines in San Miguel and northern Lincoln Counties and 674 turbines in southern Lincoln and Torrance Counties. The 550-mile transmission line will connect electricity transmission from central New Mexico to south-central Arizona, eventually to be delivered to southern California through the Palo Verde Substation.
Senator Heinrich's office stated that SunZia would deliver up to 3,650 MW. The EIA separately reported that the transmission system has a capacity of 3,021 MW. After being contacted by this reporter, Pattern Energy clarified that the 3,650 MW figure refers to installed wind-generation capacity, while the transmission system can move approximately 3,000 MW into Arizona.
“SunZia has approximately 3,650MW of installed wind capacity generated from both the Vestas and GE Vernova turbines,” said Pattern Energy External Communications Manager Edith Camargo-Renteria. “Hitachi's HVDC transmission system is able to transmit up to 3,000 of that capacity into Arizona.”
The two figures describe different parts of the project. The 3,650 MW figure refers to the maximum generating capacity of the wind farm, while the approximately 3,000 MW figure refers to the amount of electricity the transmission system can carry.
The EIA also said that, of the transmission line's 3,021 MW power capacity, 2,131 MW will be delivered and consumed in southern California.
Senator Heinrich's involvement in this project stretches back to its permitting process in 2009 when Heinrich was still a member of the US House of Representatives. Over nearly two decades, Heinrich worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to help move the project from the permitting stage to completion.