SunZia will transform New Mexico’s economy

By Martin Heinrich

May 22, 2023

The largest renewable energy project in America will start right here in New Mexico, and it just received a key approval from the Bureau of Land Management.

The SunZia Transmission and Wind Project will have a massive economic impact in New Mexico. Estimates released last year put the project’s total economic benefits to New Mexico and Arizona at $20.5 billion. The project is expected to create over 2,000 jobs during construction and support over 100 permanent jobs once online.

Through a whole series of obstacles, I fought for this project. It was worth every one of those fights to bring the transformative economic impact of this project to our rural communities.

I’m also particularly proud of the work we put in to engage with local communities, private landholders and stakeholders. Together, we secured strong commitments from SunZia’s developer, Pattern Energy, to deliver major local economic benefits and environmental stewardship investments.

SunZia will generate 3,500 megawatts of wind power in New Mexico. That’s enough to transition more than 3 million homes to clean, renewable energy. Together, the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind projects will become the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in U.S. history.

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