America's Largest Wind Farm To Begin Operations This Month

DATA & FIGURES

The SunZia Wind Project has a total net summer generating capacity of 3,650 megawatts (MW), making it more than three times larger than the next two largest wind farms, Alta Wind in Southern California (1,098 MW) and Great Prairie in northern Texas (1,027 MW). The project is expected to generate $20.5 billion in economic benefits throughout its life, with $1.3 billion in direct payments to local governments, private landowners, schools, and communities.

THE SCENARIO

The SunZia Wind Project is coming online amidst a complex geopolitical and economic context, with the Trump administration having actively worked to remove incentives for wind power projects, citing concerns about energy security.

DIRECT QUOTE

"To be able to export the power generated by this project, Pattern Energy also built the SunZia Transmission Project—a 550-mile high-voltage direct current transmission line that goes from the SunZia Wind Project site in central New Mexico to south-central Arizona." — Energy Information Administration (EIA)

BBN INSIGHT

The SunZia Wind Project is a significant development in the US renewable energy sector, demonstrating the potential for large-scale wind power projects to contribute to the country's energy mix.