Largest US Wind Farm To Begin Commercial Operations In June

SunZia Wind Project’s Capacity Is More Than Three Times Larger Than The Next Two Largest Wind Farms

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June 15, 2026

Staff

GE Vernova is deploying 674 of its 3.6-154 wind turbines for the SunZia Wind Project. Image courtesy of GE Vernova.

The SunZia Wind Project (SunZia), the largest wind farm in the United States, is slated to begin commercial operations this month. The wind farm, located in New Mexico, has a total net summer generating capacity of 3.65 GW and comprises 916 wind turbines. SunZia’s capacity is more than three times larger than the next two largest wind farms, Alta Wind in Southern California (1.098 GW) and Great Prairie in northern Texas (1.027 GW). The SunZia Wind Project uses a high-voltage transmission line to deliver the generated wind power to Arizona and California.

Image courtesy of the Energy Information Administration.

Pattern Energy started construction of the SunZia Wind Project in 2023, after almost two decades of permitting and planning. The wind farm spans three counties. The northern part of SunZia, located in San Miguel and Lincoln counties, has 242 turbines, while the southern part in Lincoln and Torrance counties has 674 turbines. By April 2026, some of the wind turbines were producing power and contributing to the grid during a testing phase.

Before the SunZia Wind Project came online, net summer wind generating capacity in New Mexico totaled 3.997 GW. The new capacity from SunZia will bring New Mexico’s total wind capacity to 7.647 GW. With this addition, wind accounts for 45% of the state’s capacity mix, followed by 19% from solar and 19% from natural gas.

Most of the electricity generated at SunZia will be exported to Arizona and to Southern California. To export the power generated by this project, Pattern Energy also built the SunZia Transmission Project, a 550-mile (885-km) high-voltage direct current transmission line that runs from the SunZia Wind Project site in central New Mexico to south-central Arizona. Of the SunZia transmission line’s 3.021 GW of power capacity, 2.131 GW will be delivered and consumed in Southern California via the Palo Verde Substation.

Generation from the SunZia Wind Project is reported by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in EIA’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. On May 15, 2026, CAISO reported 7.122 MW of hourly wind generation, which is 20% higher than the previous annual record of 5.922 MW in 2024.