USA onshore
GE Vernova 3 MW class wind turbine, left, and Vestas 4 MW class wind turbine, right, of the type to be deployed for the SunZia megaproject
“The project is a great example of how the policy certainty created by the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] is helping to drive significant investments in the US wind power market,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova According to Vic Abate, CTO, GE, and CEO, GE Vernova’s Wind business, “This project demonstrates GE Vernova’s ability to deliver on our workhorse strategy in onshore wind – producing fewer variants in large quantities…to drive quality and reliability across the fleet.”
Designed specifically for the USA, the 3.6-154 delivers “the highest efficiency in the market,” according to GE Vernova, “with an optimised size for ease of logistics and installation”, as well as reduced complexity. It is a machine that can be delivered and installed rapidly relative to larger turbines, and is for example compatible with commercially available construction cranes in the vicinity of SunZia. GE Vernova notes that the 3.6-154, “built on the back of the 2.8-127”, is the result of three years of R&D and is “the most tested and validated wind turbine in GE’s history.”
GE Vernova says it has collaborated with Pattern on SunZia to “optimise site layouts and performance while minimising unnecessary variants – following GE Vernova’s workhorse philosophy.” The SunZia project will be supplied through GE Vernova’s nacelle facility in Pensacola, Florida, as well as tower manufacturing facilities in Belen, New Mexico, Pueblo, Colorado, and Amarillo, Texas, reinforcing its focus on “taking full advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act.” Among previous Pattern projects for which GE Vernova has supplied wind turbines is Western Spirit, located over four sites in central New Mexico, with a total installed capacity of 1050 MW. This employs 377 turbines of various sizes in the range 2.3-2.7 MW, mainly 2.7 MW turbines with rotor diameters of 127 m. It entered service in 2022, supplying power to the existing grid in north west New Mexico via a 241 km long 345 kV AC line. SunZia Transmission will use some of the same corridor as the Western Spirit transmission line. For SunZia Transmission, which gives SunZia Wind access to markets in Arizona and California, Hitachi Energy is supplying
HVDC Light® plus other advanced technologies. At 3000 MW, the HVDC Light system will be the largest voltage source converter (VSC) installation in the USA and one of the largest worldwide, as well as one of the USA’s longest HVDC connections. The link will run between Corona, New Mexico and Pinal County, Arizona, with a converter station at each end. Hitachi Energy has partnered with Quanta Services, Inc. to develop a turnkey solution for the SunZia transmission project, including managing the HVDC construction and building installation at the associated project sites. The collaboration with Quanta is designed to leverage the core competencies of the two companies to deliver “a best-in-class solution for the project.”
Hitachi Energy has also signed a multi-year agreement with Pattern Energy to support the HVDC technologies it is supplying, including scheduled maintenance, cyber services, on-site engineering support and life cycle assessment of the HVDC Light converter stations.
The HVDC converter stations are expected to be in service by the end of 2025 to support final testing and commissioning of the SunZia Wind facilities in 2026. To find the optimal solution that considers the impact of the new facility on the existing grid, a system study and a comprehensive interconnection and system impact analysis were conducted by Hitachi Energy´s consultants.
SunZia Transmission will utilize some of the same corridor as the Western Spirit transmission line (pictured), also developed by Pattern Energy
World Wind Technology
Hitachi Energy is also supplying ‘AC chopper’ technology to help restore power if the power flow on the DC line or in the AC grid in Arizona is temporarily interrupted by weather and other contingency events. ●
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