GE Vernova Gets 2.4 GW Turbine Order For Biggest Mexican Wind Project

GE Vernova has signed a new equipment and long-term services deal with Pattern Energy to supply 674 units of 3.6-154 wind turbines. The order is enough to  generate more than 2.4 GW of power at the SunZia Wind project in New Mexico.

SunZia Wind, which is expected to be the largest wind project in the Western Hemisphere at over 3.5 GW total project size, will bring GE Vernova’s installed base with Pattern Energy in North America to approximately 4.3 GW upon completion.

The order, which was received in the fourth quarter of 2023, is the largest single onshore wind turbine order ever received by GE Vernova, both in terms of quantity of turbines and gigawatts of power generation, upon completion.

Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, said, “The project is a great example of how the policy certainty created by the IRA is helping to drive significant investments in the US 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.”

Hunter Armistead, CEO of Pattern Energy, said, “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.”

The New Turbine On The Horizon

The 3.6-154 turbines are one of  next generation workhorse products of GE Vernova. Designed specifically for the US market, the company says that the 3.6-154 delivers the highest efficiency in the market, with an optimized size for ease of logistics and installation. The turbine is built on the back of the 2.8-127, with more than 200 million operating hours of experience.

The result of three years of R&D, this product is expected to bring the latest innovation of turbine and blade design, including the digital blade certificate, an AI-trained blade manufacturing process. Its claimed to be the most tested and validated turbine in GE’s history.

GE Vernova and Pattern Energy’s collaboration on SunZia spans the last 18 months and includes collaborative development and supply chain work to optimize site layouts and performance.

The project will be supplied through nacelle facility of GE Vernova in Florida, as well as tower manufacturing facilities of New Mexico, Colorado and Texas. GE Vernova announced in May of 2023 that the company plans to invest $50 million in a new manufacturing assembly line for its Onshore Wind business in New York.

GE Vernova would also provide Pattern Energy with both high tech consulting services and financial services that contributed to the project’s launch.