SunZia Wind Project Starts Delivering New Mexico Power to Arizona and California While Facing Pending Lawsuit

The SunZia project began testing in April 2026 and has since delivered wind power from New Mexico across a 550-mile high-voltage direct-current line to the Palo Verde substation in Arizona, with two-thirds of the electricity continuing into Southern California.

5 gigawatts and cost an estimated $11 billion. U.S. Energy Information Administration. On May 15, 2026, CAISO recorded wind output of 8,294 megawatts, a new record 1,600 megawatts above the previous mark.

The grid operator has recorded record-breaking wind-power levels at least five times since SunZia began testing, said Dennis Wamsted of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. The New Mexico site was chosen because its wind resource is comparable in strength and consistency to California’s offshore wind resource off Morro Bay.

Much of SunZia’s generation occurs at night, complementing California’s daytime solar output and evening battery discharge.

Pattern Energy acquired the project in 2022 after it was first conceived in 2006. “SunZia proves that we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs,” said Hunter Armistead, chief executive of Pattern Energy. Elliot Mainzer, CAISO president and chief executive, stated that large-scale transmission is essential to meeting the West’s growing energy needs and strengthening reliability across the grid.

Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said SunZia demonstrates that transmission, not generation, is now the limiting factor for new clean-energy projects, and that demand for electricity is rising for the first time since air conditioning became commonplace. The transmission line crosses the San Pedro River Valley in Arizona.