Pattern's USD-8bn SunZia projects progress through permitting

Pattern Energy Group LP today announced some major milestones in the development of the multi-gigawatt SunZia wind power generation and transmission projects in the southwestern US estimated at over USD 8 billion (EUR 7.76bn) in combined cost.

The company is developing the 3,500-MW-plus SunZia Wind project in New Mexico’s Torrance, Lincoln and San Miguel Counties, along with the associated 3,000-MW SunZia Transmission project stretching for 550 miles between central New Mexico and south-central Arizona.

On Monday, Pattern Energy said that the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has approved the Certificate of Environmental Compatibility application for SunZia Transmission, which marks the completion of the permitting process in the state of Arizona. In the meantime, SunZia Wind has obtained two separate unanimous approvals from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission.

Both projects still need a few additional approvals from federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They are anticipated by April 2023.

Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy, commented that the ACC’s unanimous decision is a major milestone for the project. “We look forward to continuing to work with federal agencies and local jurisdictions to finalise remaining approvals for construction to begin in 2023,” he added.

US Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, in turn, made the following comment: "Once completed, this project will result in the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere, producing thousands of construction jobs and delivering billions in private capital investments that will ignite rural economic development across the Southwest."

(USD 1 = EUR 0.970)

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