Madrid, Apr 20: The global wind industry installed a record-breaking 165 Gigawatts (GW) of new wind capacity last year – up 40% on the previous year – in the clearest sign yet of the sector’s rapid growth, according to new data released by the Global Wind Energy Council.
GWEC’s 2026 Global Wind Report, published at a time of supply shocks and fast rising prices in international oil and gas markets, shows how a resilient wind industry continues to grow at pace as a lynchpin of the energy transition.
Global wind capacity reached 1,299 GW by the end of 2025, with 138 countries now powering their economies with wind power. The Asian market, led by China and India, commissioned 131 GW of new capacity (80% of the global total), while Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East defied expectations to install significant volumes of new wind projects.
“The steep increase we have seen in global wind installations sets a new benchmark for an industry which is rapidly accelerating and responding to heightened demand for homegrown, affordable and resilient renewable energy,” said Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC.
“At a time when skyrocketing oil and gas prices and supply shocks are once again causing disruption to economies around the world, the wind sector has demonstrated its ability to scale at speed. Accelerated growth led by Asia is enabling the rapid transition of fast-growing energy markets to electro-state economies, and showing that, where wind is built at scale, it can successfully compete with all alternatives, from coal to nuclear,” he added.
The 2026 Global Wind Report reveals that, the two largest markets in Asia, China and India together added more than 126 GW in 2025. China alone added more than
120 GW, while India almost doubled annual installations to build a record 6.3 GW of new capacity in 2025.
In Europe, total installed wind power capacity passed the 300 GW threshold. The continent installed its second highest volume of new wind capacity, at 19.1 GW (up 16% on the previous year), driven in part by strong growth in Germany and Türkiye. The EU-27 installed 15.1 GW (up 17%) – although this is still lower than the annual average growth needed for the EU to meet its 2030 energy and climate targets.
In the United States, annual onshore wind installations increased by almost 7 GW – demonstrating the strength of an industry underpinned by strong economic fundamentals.
Mr Backwell said: “Even as the wind industry growth is accelerating, there is no escaping that global growth remains uneven, and the world is still not on track to triple renewables by 2030. Bureaucratic red tape and slow roll-out of grids is stopping badly needed projects from being built in many areas of the world. However, by acting decisively to address the blockages, policymakers can quickly access a huge pipeline of ready to invest projects.”
Last month, GWEC published a Wind Action Plan to Break the Cycle of Energy Crises setting out emergency policy measures for governments to accelerate wind energy deployment and strengthen their energy resilience. The plan calls on countries to fast- track permitting, address grid blockers, mobilise finance, expand electrification, and scale up supply chains.
Girish Tanti, Vice Chairman of Suzlon Group and Vice Chair of GWEC, said: “A 40% phenomenal growth across 138 countries demonstrates the accelerating role of wind in the global energy transition. The top five markets – China, the United States, India, Germany and Brazil – accounted for 86% of new capacity additions in 2025 reflecting a powerful convergence of policy alignment, scale and investment. These markets also represent nearly 75% of the world’s total installed wind capacity, reinforcing their leadership in shaping the future of the sector. With this sustained momentum, we are firmly on track to potentially surpass wind’s global potential of 2 TW by 2030.”
Jorge Pedrón, Head of Global Power Business at Iberdrola, said: “Wind power set a new record in 2025, adding 165 GW of capacity – 40% more than in 2024 – with offshore wind now approaching the 100 GW milestone. This growth confirms that renewables‑based electrification is already delivering clear results. Iberdrola committed to wind energy nearly 30 years ago, and today wind is strengthening energy security, reducing price volatility, and providing a domestic, competitive, and sustainable source of energy.”
The Key Data
Record-smashing increase in new wind power
The 2026 Global Wind Report includes wind installation data from every region of the world. Wind power added 165 GW of capacity to the grid in 2025, the highest ever for the wind industry – up 40% on 2024, the previous record-breaking year.
Last year’s growth – a record 155.3 GW of new onshore wind (up 42%) plus 9.3 GW of new offshore wind (up 16%) – brings global cumulative capacity of wind energy to 1,299 GW, spread across all continents, with 57 countries installing wind turbines last year.
Fourteen countries commissioned over a gigawatt of new wind power in 2025: China (120.5 GW), USA (6.9 GW), India (6.3 GW), Germany (5.7 GW), Brazil (2.3 GW),
China in the lead followed by the USA and India
China once again led the way for new wind installations ahead of the USA, India, Germany, and Brazil. Combined, they made up 86% of global additions in 2025. Those same five markets also made up the top five for global installed wind capacity, comprising 75% of the world’s total.
The Asia Pacific region further consolidated its leading position in wind power development, with an 80% global market share. China added a record-breaking 120.5 GW of new wind capacity in 2025. Such explosive growth signals China’s long-term commitment to its ‘30-60’ targets of peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
India, which has pledged to scale non-fossil fuel capacity to 500 GW by 2030, added the third highest wind capacity last year, just behind the USA and overtaking Germany. India’s record growth saw annual additions rise from 3.4 GW in 2024 to 6.3 GW in 2025: a staggering 86% increase.
Africa & the Middle East saw another record year for installations in 2025, primarily driven by renewed growth in South Africa and unprecedented growth in Saudi Arabia. The 1,500 MW Dawadmi windfarm in Saudia Arabia set a new world record in 2025 for the lowest-cost wind project at just $1.338/kWh. With new manufacturing facilities planned in Saudi Arabia and Oman, the Middle East is now expected to add more than 18 GW of onshore wind capacity between 2026 and 2030.
The only region to experience a relative decline in annual additions during 2025 was Latin America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, which installed 2.3 GW last year, new installations have slowed due in part due to weak electricity demand and increased curtailment.
Onshore wind market rapidly expands
China dominated new onshore wind installations in 2025, adding more than 110 GW, or 73% of the global total. In addition, more than 124 GW of future capacity was approved in 2025 under the country’s new market-oriented pricing mechanism in 2025, a third higher than the previous year.
The USA commissioned the next highest volume of onshore wind, at nearly 7 GW, in 2025. This was up 71% year-on-year, comprising a rebound for the country after four years of declining growth. India also saw its onshore wind market surge in 2025. The country added a record 6.3 GW of new capacity in 2025 (up 86%) followed by Germany (5.2 GW) and Brazil (2.3 GW).
New onshore wind capacity awarded worldwide through wind-specific, technology- neutral, renewable and hybrid auctions was 32.8 GW, 39% lower than 2024. More than half of this was in Europe and around one-third in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily in India.
Offshore wind closes in on 100 GW milestone
Some 9.2 GW of new offshore wind capacity was grid connected worldwide in 2025, bringing the total installed to 92.3 GW and approaching an historic 100 GW milestone. China accounted for 6.6 GW of new offshore wind capacity, while Europe commissioned nearly 2 GW, with the UK connecting over 1 GW.
At the same time, 11.4 GW of future offshore wind capacity was awarded in 2025, one fifth of the record amount awarded in 2024. The lower auction awards in 2025 follow failed auction rounds in Europe, cancellations in the US and changes to the market support mechanism in China.
Future growth forecast: the path to 2 Tw
In the next five years between 2026 and 2030, GWEC Market Intelligence projects a total of 969 GW of new wind capacity is expected to be commissioned, averaging 194 GW annually through 2030. This amounts to a projected compound annual average growth rate of 5.2%.
While China is expected to drive an estimated 63% of new installations in 2026, greater diversification in the market is expected by 2030. As a result of rapid acceleration in regions such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Africa & Middle East from 2027, more than half of global growth is expected to come from markets outside of China by the end of the decade.
Global wind capacity is now projected expected to surpass the historic 2 Terawatts milestone by 2029 – just six years after passing 1 Terawatt in 2023.
