After years of delays, the biggest renewable energy project in US history finally built its path to power

A vast wind project comes online

In central New Mexico, evening winds now turn more than 900 turbines across a desert area roughly the size of Chicago. Each turbine is as tall as the Statue of Liberty, and the electricity travels along a 550-mile transmission line.

SunZia began operating this June, sending power to customers in Arizona and California. It now supplies over one million homes, and its output exceeds the electricity generated by the Hoover Dam.

A long road to construction

SunZia was first proposed in 2006, but for years it seemed unlikely to be completed. The project crossed five presidential administrations and faced an ownership change, a major reroute and a standoff with a US military base.

Lawsuits by local tribal communities and environmental advocates also challenged the project. Some cases remain pending, even though the turbines are now operating. Hunter Armistead, Pattern’s CEO, recalled that the company’s head engineer called out, “It works!” when the turbines first generated power that reached Phoenix. Armistead said construction workers marked the achievement with turbine tattoos.

Lessons for future projects

Renewable energy projects need large areas with suitable conditions, and transmission lines must carry power through natural landscapes and, in the Southwest, near lands sacred to tribal communities. SunZia’s development involved years of work over these tensions.

The project became a prominent example in discussions of permitting reform. Its eventual design, described as more collaborative in some places than the original plan, may offer lessons for future energy developments.

US electricity demand is projected to grow by 25 percent by the end of this decade and 78 percent by 2050. SunZia’s scale and difficult path to completion could inform efforts to build more clean energy infrastructure.