Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
New Mexico officials hope that better community consultation means the next SunZia doesn't get caught in a permitting labyrinth.
Why it matters: The massive wind and transmission project took 15 years to permit and symbolizes the huge challenges in building out big power lines to deliver renewable energy around the country.
Two big lessons for the feds and project developers, according to Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico commissioner of Public Lands: Meet with impacted communities early and use more state land.
- "The next SunZia can't take 15 years," she said. "We are meeting with communities, showing maps early, talking about how we're protecting cultural sites, protecting wildlife, protecting habitat while we are building these large projects."
- State land, she said, "is a lot more nimble," which can make it easier to get permits in place.
- "We don't have that sort of prolonged process like you do on federal land with NEPA."
What's next: SunZia broke ground in 2023 and is expected to be online by next year.
- It pairs a 3.5 gigawatt wind project — the largest in the Western Hemisphere — with a transmission line carrying power to population centers in Arizona and California.
