THE RENEWABLE GIANTS THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR SUNZIA
RENEWABLE ENERGY
THE RENEWABLE GIANTS THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR SUNZIA
Long before SunZia rewrote the record books, a handful of landmark projects proved that renewable energy in the US could be delivered on a truly industrial scale.
For much of the 20th century, the Hoover Dam stood as the defining symbol of American renewable power. Completed in 1936, its hydroelectric plant supplied electricity to millions across the Southwest and demonstrated that clean energy could underpin economic growth on a vast scale. Even today, it remains one of the country’ s largest hydroelectric facilities.
Elsewhere, California’ s Alta Wind Energy Center held the title of the nation’ s largest wind farm for more than a decade, stretching across the Tehachapi Pass with over 1.5GW of installed capacity.
In Texas, sprawling developments such as the Roscoe Wind Farm and Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center helped to establish the state as America’ s wind powerhouse.
Solar has produced its own trailblazers too. Nevada’ s Gemini Solar Project, paired with one of the largest battery storage systems in the US, showcased how utility-scale solar can continue supplying electricity after sunset, while California’ s Solar Star became one of the world’ s biggest photovoltaic plants when it opened in 2015.
Together, these pioneering schemes laid the technical, financial and political groundwork for projects on the scale of SunZia, showing that huge renewable developments can indeed become the new normal.
68 August 2026