Global Statistics

WWEA Annual Report 2025: 
Global Wind Power in 2025: Record Growth and Emerging Challenges

Highlights:

• Global wind capacity exceeds 1’346 Gigawatt
• 169 Gigawatt added in 2025, 35% more than 2024
• Wind power generates close to 3000 TWh, more than 11% of world demand
• Annual growth rate rises from 11,9% to 14,3% – highest since 2020
• China installs 130 Gigawatt, 49% more than in 2024, 77% of global market
• World outside China: 11,7% more new wind than 2024 but still below 2023
• India becomes second largest market for new wind
• 1’500’000 Megawatt of global capacity to be reached in 2026
• World to target octuplication to 10’000’000 MW, covering 40% of demand
• Required growth: 350’000 MW per year

The report can here be downloaded in pdf format 

The WWEApodcast 25: Global Wind Power – How to Reach 10 Million MW by 2050 https://wwindea.org/WWEApodcast25 

#WWEAwebinar Wind Power Around the World Recordings: https://youtu.be/60ladqA9ZlE 

Bonn (WWEA) – 2025 marked a watershed moment for the global wind power sector. According to preliminary statistics released by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), the world added 169’014 Megawatts (MW) of new wind capacity – a 35% increase over 2024 – bringing total global installations to 1’346’866 MW. This surge represents the highest annual growth rate since 2020, with wind power now generating nearly 3’000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and meeting over 11% of global demand.

The record-breaking expansion was overwhelmingly driven by China, which alone accounted for 77% of global additions by installing 130 Gigawatts (GW) in a single year. China has now an overall share of more than 50% of the world total capacity. 

Outside China, however, growth remained uneven. While new installations reached 38,7 GW – slightly above 2024 levels – this figure still fell short of the 44 GW added in 2023. The disparity underscores a critical trend: the wind power boom is concentrated in a handful of countries, with China, India, Vietnam, Chile, and Turkey leading the charge, alongside modest contributions from traditional markets like Germany and the United States.

The volume of the capacity added results in a global growth rate of 14,3%, significantly higher than in 2024, when wind capacity grew by only 11,9%. Since 2016, only the year 2020 showed a similar growth rate, all other years had lower global growth.

 

Of the top thirty countries, only five had growth rates above the global average: China with 23,2%, Turkey with 15,5%, the most dynamic market Vietnam with 2025’s record rate of 50,8%, as well as Chile with the second dynamic market and 23,9% increase. India with 13,1% showed a dynamic momentum as well although slightly below the global average.

The countries with the largest market volume for new wind turbines of more than 2 GW of added capacity were in 2025: China (130 GW), India (6300 MW), followed closely by the United States (6272 MW), Germany (4602 MW), Vietnam (2493 MW), Brazil (2244 MW), and Turkey (2142 MW). 

 

Long-term developments: Growth continues but uncertainties emerge 

With 1’346’866 Megawatt of installed capacity, the world has reached a new record in total installations after it had fallen short of expectations and forecasts for 2024. As expected, some of the new installations originally anticipated for 2024 took place in 2025. 

As it can be expected that the growth in China will continue on the same level, the key to achieve more ambitious global targets lies outside China. The rest of the world must accelerate substantially its wind power deployment to achieve more global growth.

While many countries are increasing their efforts to grow their wind sector, recent developments mainly in the US have created enormous uncertainty not only about the future of the US market, but also about the viability and reliability of international supply chains. 

 

Share of wind power in electricity generation and consumption 

Wind energy’s contribution to global electricity supply has never been more significant. In 2025, wind turbines generated enough power to cover more than 11% of worldwide demand, surpassing nuclear energy and closing in on other fossil sources. This milestone reflects not only the sector’s rapid expansion but also its increasing reliability as a power source.

At the national level, more than 30 countries now have a share of wind power equal to or above the world average. China generated last year 10,8% of its power from wind, very close to the global average. From this year onwards, China is expected to exceed the global average. 

 

The Road to 10’000’000 MW of Wind by 2050 

The numbers show very clearly that the share of wind power in global electricity generation is increasing continuously. In light of the vulnerability of fossil fuel supply chains and the problems related to nuclear power, renewable energy is about to cover close to the entirety of the world’s energy supply. With the global trend towards electrification, it can be expected that wind, jointly with other renewables, will also cover a large share of the energy required for heating and cooling as well as for transportation.

Accordingly, it can reasonably be expected that the world will double its power demand in the coming 25 years. Assuming that, as already achieved in some countries, wind power may have a share of 40% in the overall electricity generation. This will require an overall installed capacity of 10’000’000 Megawatt of wind turbines in the year 2050. This is equivalent to an eightfold increase of the capacity installed today.

Such increase will require annual capacity additions of 300’000 to 400’000 MW, a realistic scenario when considering the growth already happening today which has already reached half of this size. One third or more of this growth can be provided by repowering of existing wind farms. However, this will require governments to set up appropriate frameworks. 

WWEA’s long-term vision – 10’000 GW of wind power by 2050, supplying 40% of global electricity demand – is ambitious but achievable. To reach this goal, the world must double to triple annual installations to 300–400 GW per year, with one-third of the growth coming from the repowering of aging turbines.

 

Key Steps Forward
1.    Policy Reform: Governments must eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, accelerate permitting, and incentivize repowering.
2.    Improved international collaboration amongst the like-minded governments, enterprises, people, to jointly increase the resilience of the wind community. 
3.    Supply Chain Resilience: Strengthening international trade agreements and local manufacturing will reduce dependency on volatile markets.
4.    Community-Centric Models: Expanding local ownership and benefit-sharing programs can build public support and counter opposition.
5.    Education and Training: Initiatives like the World Wind Energy Academy in China will be critical to developing the skilled workforce needed for rapid deployment.

 

Conclusion: A Pivotal Moment for Wind Power

2025 was a year of record-breaking growth, but it also exposed the fragilities and inequalities within the global wind sector. While China’s leadership is undeniable, the rest of the world must accelerate its efforts to avoid falling further behind. The transition to a wind-powered future is not merely a technical challenge – it is a political, economic, and social imperative. Improved international collaboration as proposed in the Shantou Declaration on Global Wind Power Cooperation can help to identify and apply effective strategies.

The choices made today – whether to embrace or obstruct wind power – will determine not only the climate trajectory but also the energy security and economic prosperity of future generations. The wind is rising; the question is whether the world is ready to harness it.

 

 

Regional perspectives 

ASIA

China passed the 600’000 Megawatt in 2025 and reached an installed capacity of 691’750 Megawatt at the end of 2025. 

This, once again, underlined China’s exceptional role in driving global wind power development – the country added 130’258 Megawatt, after 86’892 Megawatt in 2024, and 79’370 MW in 2023. With this impressive new capacity, China accounts for 77% of the global market for new wind turbines – a steady increase from 72% in 2024, 65% in 2023 and 58% in 2022.

After China fell slightly short of the expected new capacity of 100 GW in 2024, some planned installations were obviously shifted to last year, leading to a new record. This cements China’s dominant role in global wind power development. With an annual growth rate of 23,2%, one of the highest rates of any major market, China is expected to continue its growth and install a similar amount in 2026 and in the following years, reaching 1’000’000 MW in 2027 or 2028. The long-term goal of China is an installed wind capacity of 3’000’000 MW which will provide one third or more of the country’s power demand.

The Chinese wind sector is now also ready to intensify international collaboration and many Chinese companies have started not only to sell turbines but also to invest in factories abroad.

With an additional 6,3 Gigawatt added in 2025, India has improved its position and became the second largest country for new wind capacity, just ahead of the USA. The country stayed the fourth largest market for total installations. 

With an overall capacity of 54,5 GW, India surpassed 50’000 Megawatt of installed capacity in 2025 and is expected to reach more than 60 GW in 2026. Given the country’s ambitious targets, India is expected to remain fourth in terms of overall capacity in the coming years. New impetus in India is expected to come from repowering and from offshore wind – which is expected to start in the next few years. 

Two more Asian countries can be found amongst the top 20 markets: Vietnam has become one of the most dynamic markets worldwide, reaching 7,4 GW and ranking on 19^th place, overtaking Japan which now ranks 20 and has an overall installed capacity of 6,4 GW. 

 

EUROPE 

Several European markets showed stronger growth in 2025 then in the previous year, for example Germany, France, Sweden, Turkey, Italy and several eastern European countries. However, the overall picture is mixed, as some of the major markets performed less than in the previous year, for example of the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland or Finland.

While overall Europe had understood the lessons learned from the gas supply crisis caused by the Russian war against Ukraine, and strengthen its efforts to accelerate renewable energy, the fossil and nuclear industry intensified their efforts to weaken legislation on the European level and in some of the EU member states, partially with success. Accordingly, Europe is struggling to maintain its position as a technology leader on the global level. While the US have withdrawn themselves from the renewable energy field, China has become a technical leader and Europe has manoeuvered itself into a defensive role.

Germany improved its market performance for Windpower and increased its market size from 3,2 GW to 4,6 GW in 2025. Considering the project pipeline of permitted projects, it can be expected that such market growth will continue in the near future. 

In total, seven European countries surpassed the 1 Gigawatt for new installations, after only five in 2024: Germany, France (1,4 Gigawatt additional, overall 26,1 Gigawatt), Spain (1 Gigawatt added, 33,3 GW in total), the United Kingdom (1 Gigawatt new, 33 Gigawatt in total), Sweden (1 Gigawatt new, total 18 Gigawatt), Turkey (2,1 GW added, 15,9 total) and Lithuania (1,2 GW added, total 2,5 GW).

Medium sized markets between 200 and 600 MW in Europe included Italy (580 MW new), Belgium (535 MW added), Poland (plus 470 MW), Greece (341 MW new) and Austria (244 MW added). 

Remarkably, several eastern European states showed very high growth rates, including Lithuania which almost doubled its capacity from 1288 MW to 2510 MW, the attacked country Ukraine which added 325 MW to 2246 MW, Serbia with an additional 464 MW to 1110 MW and Estonia with an increase of 235 MW to a total capacity of 682 MW. 

The European Union sent mixed signals regarding the future of renewable energy: while the Commission and the Court of Auditors are still supporting the uptake of energy communities, and the Union has strengthened its efforts to become independent from imported energy, some announcements and decisions have questioned the European direction, for example related to combustion engine cars, the future of nuclear power as well as the climate goals.

 

NORTH AMERICA

The United States saw around 50% more growth in 2025 than in 2024, adding slightly less than 6,3 GW after 4,2 GW, resulting in almost 161 GW of total capacity. The country remains again only as the third largest market for a new wind turbines, this time taken over by India, while in the previous year Brazil had the third largest number of new installations. As the Trump administration has not only announced but already implemented several decisions which are clearly against new wind farms, the future of the US market is on stake. After courts upheld land use approvals, the US government paid investors for not building wind farms.

However, a rush in new installations is expected in 2026 and 2027 which may bring the US back as the second largest market for these two years, still based on old rules. It remains to be seen how consumers and businesses in the United States will react on policies which are supposed to force them away from cheap and reliable domestic wind power.

Canada installed slightly over 1 GW in 2025, after 1,4 Gigawatt in 2024, and now has 19,5 Gigawatt of capacity – the Canadian economy has still a strong focus on extracting for fuels and the country needs to go a long way. Mexico stayed at 8,7 Gigawatt total capacity in 2025. 

 

SOUTH AMERICA 

While Brazil continues to be the leader in South America, its market has lost significant momentum in 2025. The country added 2,2 GW of new capacity, after 5 GW in the previous year, reaching an overall capacity of 35,9 GW. The growth rate fell from 17,7% to 6,7%.

The second largest and second most dynamic market in South America was Chile which increased its capacity from 4,8 GW to 6,0 GW, equaling a growth of 23,9%. Argentina added 177 MW and reached 4,5 GW, followed by Uruguay which remained at 1,5 GW and Peru which added 269 MW and crossed the milestone of 1 Gigawatt of installed capacity, with an annual growth of 36%.

 

OCEANIA

The Australian wind market stayed in global position 12 with an installed capacity of 15,4 Gigawatt, adding only 94 MW in 2025. Short-term prospects did not appear very bright in the first half of 2025 as no project reached financial close, however, since then the government amended legislation which is seen as favorable for wind power investment, including a new renewable electricity target of 82% in 2030. 

New Zealand remained its position 44 with an installed capacity of 1,3 GW. 

 

AFRICA

Although the African continent has a huge twin potential, the installed wind capacity is still rather modest. Amongst the top 30 markets, only one African country can be found: South Africa ranks on place 30 with an installed capacity of 3,7 GW, out of which 203 MW were added in 2025.

The second largest wind power market Egypt remained at an installed capacity of 3 GW (global position 32) while Morocco (number 35 worldwide) added 170 MW and reached 2,4 GW. 

As a substantial share of the African population still lives in unserved areas, the market for mini grids has a bigger potential on the continent than in other world regions. So far, such mini grids are mainly based on solar and battery storage but there is an increasing interest in adding wind power as a complementary source, including small and medium size wind turbines.