General Electric’s renewable energy business will supply close to 700 wind turbines for a project now underway in central New Mexico: SunZia Wind is expected to be the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere, generating more than 3.5 gigawatts of electricity annually. GE Vernova will provide 674 of its 3.6-MW onshore turbines, to generate more than 2.4 GW of energy for the project.
Rival wind-energy business Vestas is supplying 242 4.5-MW turbines to the SunZia project, contributing another 1.1 GW.
Pattern Energy took over the former Mesa Canyons wind farm project and combined it with its own Corona Wind project, forming the SunZia project. The developer announced late in 2023 that it had reached $11 billion in funding for the wind-energy project, which spans three counties in rural New Mexico and will deliver energy westward through a 500-mile transmission network.
GE Vernova is the name of the organization that General Electric plans to spin off this year, combining its power, wind, and electrification businesses. GE did not reveal the value of its order from Pattern Energy, which in addition to the capital equipment includes a long-term service program for the installation that is scheduled to begin coming online in 2026.
GE did not provide a value for the new order, but noted it is the largest ever recorded for its onshore wind turbines, and will raise its installed base in North America to approximately 4.3 GW, among more than 55,000 turbines installed worldwide.
The GE Vernova plant in Pensacola, Fla., will manufacture the turbine’s nacelles, and tower manufacturing operations in Belen, N.M., Pueblo, Col., and Amarillo, Tex., will contribute to the production program.
“This project demonstrates GE Vernova’s ability to deliver on our workhorse strategy in onshore wind — producing fewer variants in large quantities at scale to drive quality and reliability across the fleet for our customers," according to a statement by president and CEO Vic Abate.
