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GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind division has inked a deal with Pattern Energy to supply 674 3.6-1541 wind turbines for the SunZia Wind project in New Mexico.
This project is expected to yield over 2.4 GW of power, contributing to SunZia Wind’s expected status as the Western Hemisphere’s largest wind project at 3.5 GW. Once completed, GE Vernova’s installed base with Pattern Energy in North America will reach around 4.3 GW, marking a historic achievement for the company in terms of both turbine quantity and power generation capacity. The order, received in Q4 2023, is the largest single onshore wind turbine order ever secured by GE Vernova.
GE’s 3.6-154 turbine, a pinnacle of next-gen engineering, is tailored for the U.S. market. Evolving from the globally acclaimed 2.8-127, ranked #1 for two years by Woodmac 2022 OEM report, with 200 million operating hours. The product, a result of three years of R&D, introduces cutting-edge innovations like the digital blade certificate and an AI-honed blade manufacturing process for superior quality.
Speaking about the project, Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, said, “We are pleased to support Pattern Energy on this monumental project that reinforces the key role wind power has in delivering renewable energy to meet the growing demand for power in the Western U.S. and in accelerating the energy transition. The project is a great example of how the policy certainty created by the IRA is helping to drive significant investments in the U.S. wind power market. I want to congratulate our teams across GE Vernova for all the work that has and will go into bringing a project of this scale and magnitude to life.”
Vic Abate, Chief Technology Officer, GE and CEO, GE Vernova’s Wind business, added, “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. We are proud to partner with our customer, Pattern Energy, on this historic project that will deliver the critical renewable energy required to meet the growing demand for power in the Western U.S.”
Abate further added, “Mega projects like SunZia, coupled with the IRA, are enabling our continued investments in wind technology, domestic manufacturing, and product quality. These investments are aiding the country’s efforts to decarbonize the electric grid in support of climate change goals.”
Over the past 18 months, GE Vernova and Pattern Energy collaborated on SunZia, emphasizing a workhorse approach to development, optimizing layouts, and minimizing unnecessary variants. The project, supplied through GE Vernova’s facilities in Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, aligns with their commitment to American manufacturing revitalization. GE Vernova’s $50 million investment in Schenectady, New York, underscores their dedication to expanding Onshore Wind operations. This collaboration, supported by high-tech consulting and financial services, showcases GE Vernova’s 3.6-154 turbine, a part of their workhorse product lineup known for design focus, efficient supply, reliability, and bankability. Leading onshore wind installations in the U.S. for five years, GE Vernova boasts a global fleet of over 55,000 turbines.
“We are proud to expand on our mutual installed base with GE in North America to more than 4 GW,” said Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy. “From the beginning this was a truly collaborative approach with GE to design an optimal site that maximizes turbine performance and optimizes fleet consistency. Nacelles and towers for the GE turbine are being domestically produced right here in the United States, helping SunZia create thousands of new jobs in manufacturing and construction. We’re proud to be building this milestone project together with GE that will bring clean energy to 3 million Americans.”
