SunZia Wind: The Future of Clean Energy

SunZia Wind, a monumental endeavor in clean energy, is poised as the largest project of its kind in the United States. The ambitious, $11 billion wind turbine farm will exist across the borders of Torrance, Lincoln and San Miguel Counties in New Mexico, harnessing and delivering a capacity of 3,500 megawatts (MW) — enough to power the needs of over 3 million American homes.

Our collaboration with Pattern Energy in providing preliminary development services and designing critical early-stage scopes has laid a solid foundation for this groundbreaking endeavor.

A Collaborative Approach

SunZia has been over a decade in the making. Ulteig’s relationship with Pattern began in the endeavor’s early conceptual phases, providing development engineering for what ultimately became a precursor project: Western Spirit Wind.

Built in stages from 2019 to 2021, the 1GW+ project Western Spirit was developed due to strong market demand for clean energy. However, each of its four wind power facilities only hinted at the viability of a more massive undertaking like that of SunZia. And with Western Spirit now operational, Pattern is poised to realize a new vision for SunZia.

“When a wind farm is getting developed, they typically start with three things,” said Chad Crabtree, Ulteig General Manager and Vice President – Renewables. “They start with some land that they’re going to lease, a point of interconnection and a capacity. The capacity is all about the demand for clean energy, and it needs to coincide nicely with their interconnection placement but also the capacity that’s available on the grid. Our list of scopes is really all about the client coming with those three things and looking for us to help them begin to advance their development.”

As Pattern’s engineering partner, Ulteig has performed a range of critical tasks for the SunZia project. This includes development engineering-related tasks, land assessment, legal encumbrance evaluations and subsurface analysis to identify potential challenges. By proactively addressing these risks and providing decision support to Pattern, Ulteig enabled efficient and informed decision making throughout the planning and design phases.

“We identified and mitigated as many risks as possible in the beginning, so we could enable Pattern to make those decisions while we designed. In this case, there were several unknowns. We act as a partner to help make those informed decisions”, said Crabtree.

Energizing the Economic Impacts

One significant milestone involved garnering approval from a local planning and zoning commission, a crucial step to overcome before officially breaking ground. With construction now under way, the project is anticipated to be fully operational in 2026, driving a paradigm shift in the clean energy landscape.

At peak construction, SunZia will employ over 1,500 skilled workers. At the same time, SunZia and Western Spirit will funnel substantial benefits into local counties — an estimated $300 million and $88 million, respectively, in revenue over the next 30 years.

SunZia will also boost the regional economy through increased local spending. According to Pattern, during construction, millions of dollars will be spent on lodging, food services, gas, groceries and other services to accommodate the workforce. Long-term, Pattern’s Community Benefits Program will channel investment into local organizations and initiatives. In Corona, NM, Pattern has already donated $50,000 for local scholarships, sponsored 4H and FFA events, and supported local rodeo and horse judging teams.

Once operational, SunZia will employ over 100 full-time staff to maintain the facility. The wind farm will utilize local vendors and supply chains for ongoing operations and maintenance needs.

Looking to the Future

With a fully operational target date under three years away, we’re confident that the SunZia Wind Farm will revolutionize the renewable energy sector and serve as a testament to our commitment to building a sustainable future.

For more information on Ulteig’s Wind capabilities, get in touch with us.