Hitachi Energy supports long-term operation of largest HVDC-connected wind energy project in U.S.

Multi-year agreement provides service solutions to the SunZia Transmission Project, linking New Mexico’s wind farms to Arizona’s grid, increasing renewable energy to Western States　　

Dubai, May 13, 2024 – Hitachi Energy announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Pattern Energy to support its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technologies for the SunZia Transmission Project. The link will connect the 3,515-megawatt (MW) SunZia Wind project in New Mexico to Arizona and Western states, which will be one of the world’s largest transmission links delivering renewable energy.

The long-term agreement will provide service solutions for the SunZia Transmission HVDC link, currently under construction¹, owned by Pattern Energy, one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of renewable energy and transmission projects. Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light^® technology will efficiently transfer and integrate huge volumes of wind power over more than 885 kilometers (550 miles) into the regional power grid. This will significantly increase the availability of sustainable energy for homes and businesses throughout the region when it enters operation, which is expected in 2025.

EnCompass™ is Hitachi Energy’s portfolio of partnership-oriented service offerings, signaling a step-change in life cycle thinking. This order underlines Hitachi Energy’s commitment to trusted long-term partnerships and builds on its proven track record of delivering innovative and reliable energy service solutions ².

When complete, SunZia Wind will have a total power capacity of 3,515 MW, enough clean, renewable electricity to provide power to approximately three million Americans³. The HVDC link will efficiently transmit up to 3,000 MW of this power west to Arizona. The HVDC Light^® system will be the largest voltage source converter (VSC) installation in the United States, one of the largest worldwide, and one of the country’s longest HVDC connections.

“We’re proud to be selected once again to provide our unique service expertise to keep the important SunZia link operating at maximum efficiency, performance, and reliability,” said Andreas Berthou, global head of the HVDC business at Hitachi Energy. "With our service solutions, we are building a partnership ecosystem to ensure continued support to the HVDC link throughout its lifetime, delivering cutting-edge digital service with sustainability and customer value at its core.”

“The SunZia transmission and Wind projects provide a roadmap to accelerate the transition to renewable energy,” said Paul Haberlein, VP of Operational Excellence at Pattern Energy. “SunZia will play a vital role in delivering clean and sustainable energy to Western states. Pattern selected Hitachi Energy, a global technology leader, as our partner to engineer, manufacture, and maintain the HVDC converter stations after they enter operation.”

Service for an HVDC system includes a wide range of activities and support, including scheduled maintenance, cyber services, on-site engineering support, and life cycle assessment of the HVDC Light^® stations.

Hitachi Energy recognizes that the energy transition begins with existing infrastructure and the company is championing the urgency and the pace of change needed to reach Net Zero.  Leveraging on the company’s century of experience and expertise, its dedicated teams deliver exceptional service solutions that cover the entire life cycle of their customer’s assets, ensuring resilient operations. The company offers expert advice at every stage of the process across the whole portfolio, addressing both present and future needs to help customers achieve a sustainable energy future.

Hitachi Energy pioneered commercial HVDC technology 70 years ago and has delivered more than half of the world’s HVDC projects and has the largest installed base of HVDC in the world.