The high stakes game of clean energy whack-a-mole continues in the US, and President Donald Trump is losing, bigly. His extraordinary efforts to squash the domestic wind industry are temporary at best, while new evidence of failure keeps popping up like algae in a shallow pool. The latest example is the massive, 550-mile, 3-gigawatt SunZia transmission line connecting energy-thirsty states with a new wind farm in New Mexico. The decades-long effort has culminated in success, despite Trump and his friends in the fossil fuel industry. The Long Road To Clean Energy Just Got Shorter Multi-state transmission lines are a tough nut to crack, clean energy or not, due to the extra layer of complexity required to coordinate multiple jurisdictions. Similar projects were proposed in the early 2000’s, only to slide into the dustbin of endless delays if not outright failure. SunZia prevailed, though not without a long and arduous effort. The firm Southwestern Power Group first described the project back in 2006, and it was complex indeed. The $2 billion line would cross a patchwork of federal, state, and private property. The proposal also included plans for a wind farm in New Mexico under the wing of Energy Capital Partners and Shell WindEnergy Inc., with support from utilities in Arizona and New Mexico. That was 20 years ago, for those of you keeping score at home. The Obama administration saw some signs of substantial progress in the project planning and review stages, but in 2014 SunZia ran up against concerns about interference with the White Sands missile range in New Mexico, contributing to further delays. The Department of Defense suggested that burying parts of the line would solve the problem, but White Sands almost brought a halt to the whole project. By 2022, though, SunZia emerged from the ashes with a new 550-mile route away from the missile range, new ownership, and a new price tag of $8 billion. “More Power Than The Hoover Dam” Under new owner Pattern Energy Group, in 2023 the project secured $11 billion in financing through the voluntary Green Loan Principles sustainable development platform, adding an extra layer of shine to its clean energy profile. Construction officially began that same year, and CleanTechnica took note of the state of affairs in April of this year, when Sunzia began initial operations in coordination with the 916-turbine SunZia Wind array in New Mexico. Finally, on June 18 Pattern Energy flipped the whole switch. “The SunZia project can generate and deliver more power than the Hoover Dam and supply affordable, reliable energy to the western United States,” Pattern emphasized. In addition to supplying clean energy directly to Arizona, SunZia also adds wind power from New Mexico to the California grid as well, specifically San Francisco. That’s just for starters. Pattern CEO Hunter Armistead hints that the SunZia project sets the table for similarly ambitious energy infrastructure projects to come. “This project sets a new standard for what is possible — and we intend to keep building on it,” Armistead said in a press statement. Clean Energy Is Global Energy Transmission lines are generally resource-agnostic, so SunZia could potentially accommodate fossil fuel or nuclear resources in addition to wind or solar. Still, with the focus on the rapid deployment of new generating capacity to meet soaring demand, wind and solar (especially solar) are running far ahead of the pack. The construction timeline for a utility-scale solar power plant typically runs 12-18 months from start a construction, a record that is difficult if not impossible for new coal, oil, gas, or nuclear power plants to beat. Trump’s willful dismissal of the timeline factor is not the only factor dooming his war against renewables to fail. His tariff wars have also consistently failed to stop global stakeholders from pushing the energy transition envelope in the US, with SunZia being a particularly high profile example. The technology behind the new transmission line is a case in point, as the Switzerland-based firm Hitachi Energy (a subsidiary of Hitachi) has been working hand in glove with Pattern Energy on the project. “SunZia Transmission uses Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light® technology, a state‑of‑the‑art Voltage Source Converter (VSC)-based solution with advanced power electronics to precisely control voltage and power flow,” Hitachi explains, with HVDC referring to high voltage direct current, an emerging technology that is just beginning to sink its teeth into the US market. “The VSC based HVDC system can rapidly adjust power flow, allowing the grid to respond quickly to changing conditions while delivering more wind energy precisely when it’s needed, reducing reliance on fossil fuel plants during peak periods,” the company elaborates, underscoring the ability of new transmission technology to knock natural gas out of the market. “Paired with ultra‑fast AC choppers, the system is designed to protect grid stability, ensure reliable, consistent energy delivery even during weather disruptions or other unexpected events,” Hitachi adds, which is a polite way of saying that federal policy makers who dismiss intermittent energy resources — namely, wind and solar — are either willfully ignorant, or just plain ignorant. Largest Clean Energy Transmission Line Of Its Kind Hitachi also notes that the ±525 kilovolt HVDC line is the largest installation of its kind in the US, and among the largest worldwide, and it probably won’t be the last. As described by Armistead, Hitachi Energy’s HVDC technology is the key differentiator between SunZia and other transmission projects. “Hitachi Energy’s HVDC technology is what allows large amounts of power generated in New Mexico to move efficiently across long distance,” Armistead explains. “SunZia is proof of what HVDC can do: connect regions, improve efficiencies of the market and enhance reliability,” he notes, indicating an interest in establishing similar projects around the US. In that regard, Hitachi already has a running start on HVDC projects that pull the clean energy rug out from under the President. Its technology is behind the new Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line, connecting New York City and the metro region with hydropower resources in Quebec. That single project now accounts for up to 20% of New York metro region energy demand. Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul celebrated the official start of operation for the new transmission line. In a statement marking the occasion, Hochul affirmed her state’s position as a clean energy leader, despite federal obstructionism. The President hasn’t figured out how to respond to that yet, probably because his own “American Energy Dominance” policy supports hydropower along with biomass and geothermal energy, too. Awkward! Photo: The Swiss firm Hitachi Energy is behind new transmission technology that enables clean energy to travel long distances, supporting grid reliability in far-flung areas (cropped, courtesy of Hitachi).