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US Wind Farm SunZia Begins Commercial Operations in New Mexico, EIA Says

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The SunZia Wind Project, the largest wind farm in the US, has begun commercial operations in New Mexico, expanding the state's renewable energy capacity and boosting power supplies to neighboring states, according to US Energy Information Administration strategists in a Friday note.

The project, developed by Pattern Energy, has a net summer generating capacity of 3.650 gigawatts and consists of 916 wind turbines spread across three counties in central New Mexico.

The EIA analysts said the wind farm's capacity is more than three times that of the country's next-largest wind farms, Alta Wind in California and Great Plains in Texas.

Construction on SunZia began in 2023 following about two decades of planning and permitting. The project is divided into two sections, with 242 turbines located in San Miguel and Lincoln counties, and 674 turbines situated across Lincoln and Torrance counties.

The EIA said the addition of SunZia nearly doubles New Mexico's wind generation capacity. New Mexico had 3.997 GW of installed wind capacity before the project entered service.

With SunZia online, total wind capacity rises to 7.647 GW, making wind the dominant source in New Mexico's power capacity mix at 45%, ahead of both solar and natural gas, each at 19%.

The EIA said most of the electricity generated by the facility will be exported outside New Mexico. To facilitate power deliveries, Pattern Energy also constructed the SunZia Transmission Project, a 550-mile high-voltage direct current transmission line linking the wind farm to south-central Arizona.

The transmission system has a capacity of 3.021 GW, of which 2.131 GW is expected to be delivered to Southern California through the Palo Verde Substation in Arizona.

The California Independent System Operator recorded hourly wind generation of 7.122 GW on May 15, 2026, the EIA said, noting that it surpassed the previous annual record of 5.922 GW set in 2024 by about 20%.

The EIA said the startup of SunZia comes as utilities and policymakers across the western US seek to expand renewable energy supplies and strengthen transmission infrastructure to meet growing electricity demand while reducing carbon emissions.

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