The order is the largest single onshore wind turbine order ever received by GE, both in terms of number of turbines and gigawatts of power generation.
The over 3.5 GW SunZia Wind project is expected to be the largest wind project in the West. Construction began in late-2023 after more than 17 years of navigating permits and approvals. The project also includes a 550-mile ± 525 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona with the capacity to transport 3,000 MW across Western states.
GE’s 3.6 MW turbine with a 154-meter rotor is what the company refers to as the 3.6-154. GE said its 3.6-154 turbine delivers the highest efficiency in the market and is built on the back of the 2.8-127.
The company said the product is expected to bring recent innovations in turbine and blade design, including the digital blade certificate, an AI-trained blade manufacturing process designed to produce industry leading quality.
GE Vernova and Pattern Energy’s collaboration on SunZia spans the last 18 months and has included collaborative development and supply chain work to optimize site layouts and performance. GE also provided Pattern Energy with consulting and financial services in support of this deal.
The project will be supplied through GE Vernova’s nacelle facility in Pensacola, Florida, as well as tower manufacturing facilities in Belen, New Mexico, Pueblo, Colorado, and Amarillo, Texas.
