Nation’s largest wind farm comes online in New Mexico

 A New Mexico-based clean energy project which has been under construction for the past 20 years is starting to deliver energy and is set to be fully operational in June. The SunZia wind farm – the largest US-based wind project to date, with 916 turbines – is projected to provide enough electricity to power 1.2 million homes.

The wind farm is connected to California’s electric grid via a transmission line and California’s utilities have committed to purchasing most of the power generated from the wind farm. Thanks to the arrangement, California’s grid operators have posted five new records this spring for how much electricity they are getting from wind. The benefits are primarily seen at night when the wind blows hardest.

“When we get more of our power from renewable sources like solar and wind, we reduce our dependence on dirty energy sources that harm our health and our environment,” said Johanna Neumann, Senior Director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy at Environment America Research & Policy Center.