The biggest wind farm in U.S. history was completed in June—SunZia Wind and Transmission, an $11 billion, 3.65-gigawatt (GW) Southwestern power project—during a time when industry experts are predicting an overall decline in the wind industry.

Construction began in 2023 and the system is now fully operational. SunZia will provide energy to Arizona and New Mexico’s electric grids, and beyond, helping to meet the West’s growing energy demand and maintain grid reliability, according to a June 2026 press release from lead developer and project owner Pattern Energy, a major developer and operator of clean energy and transmission infrastructure with over 40 facilities across North America.

The wind farm is expected to generate enough sustainable electricity to power approximately 1 million homes annually, Pattern Energy said. It will produce three times the energy output of the Hoover Dam, which generates 3.9 terawatt-hours annually, according to E&E News by Politico and data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

SunZia’s 550-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line sends power from New Mexico to California, making it the largest wind infrastructure project in the Western Hemisphere. The HVDC transmission system—one of the first major systems of its kind built in the United States in a generation—can efficiently move large amounts of electricity across long distances, according to the press release. Major converter stations at each end prepare power for delivery and put it back onto the grid for use.

This month, Salt River Project (SRP), a not-for-profit public utility serving over 1.2 million electricity customers and providing water to about 2.5 million in central Arizona, signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Pattern Energy to add 600 megawatts (MW) of SunZia’s wind-generated energy to Arizona’s grid, according to a July 2026 SRP press release. SRP will receive 400 MW of energy this fall, increasing its allocation to 600 MW by the summer of 2027. This establishes another record for the project—one of the biggest renewable PPAs in the country.

“Projects of this scale help deliver energy reliably to areas of rising demand, improve the movement of power across states and support a more resilient, flexible and affordable electric system,” said Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent System Operator, in a Pattern Energy press release. “SunZia represents the kind of long-term infrastructure investment needed to serve customers today and prepare the grid for the future.” 

But SunZia might be the country’s last renewable energy infrastructure project at this scale for years. Annual offshore wind power additions are forecasted to decline until 2030, according to BloombergNEF, a subsidiary of Bloomberg LP, a strategic research provider that tracks global commodity markets and the technologies that drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The Trump Administration has worked to decrease incentives for and halt development of renewable energy—especially wind, according to an article in Bloomberg. Many of these efforts have been successfully challenged and lifted in the court system. Other roadblocks include inflation, supply challenges, local opposition, tariffs, long waits to connect to power grids and the end of tax credits, according to Bloomberg.

However, the wind doesn’t stop blowing. Wind power contributed 38% of total in-state electricity generation in 2023 for New Mexico—the largest single source of electricity in the state, according to New Mexico Energy Initiatives Consortium (NMEIC), an initiative led by New Mexico Tech that brings energy stakeholders across New Mexico together to advance energy education, outreach and research.

New Mexico ranks among the top five states for wind energy potential, according to NMEIC. SunZia is the state’s largest wind farm, but New Mexico also houses Sagamore Wind (522 MW), Red Cloud Wind (350 MW), Clines Corners Wind Farm (325 MW), La Joya Wind (306 MW) and El Cabo Wind (298 MW).

“The state benefits from some of the strongest and most consistent wind patterns in the United States, particularly in its eastern and central regions, where wind speeds average more than 9 meters per second,” according to NMEIC.

SunZia is expected to generate $20.5 billion in total economic benefits as well as $1.3 billion in direct payments to local communities, counties, governments, private landowners and schools over the first 30 years of its operation.

“SunZia proves that we can still build the consequential infrastructure this country needs,” said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy, in a press release. “We did this the right way, we did it on time and on budget—in genuine partnership with the local communities and landowners who trusted us, with the environmental stewardship this unique landscape deserves and with the determination to see something through that many thought was too big and too complex to finish.”