The wind power reached a new expansion record (117 GW) worldwide in 2024. 93 percent of the newly built performance are on land. China in particular is the main pillar of developing the market. With 11 GW, Germany enables new installations that Europe remains in the top field.
The Global Wind Report of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) published today shows a wind power record year for 2024. A total of 117 GW was reinstalled worldwide in wind power performance, the majority of it (109 GW) are on land. With the new wind power capacity on land last year, the global cumulative wind power output on land for the first time broke the 1 million megawatt border. Offshore, i.e. in the seas, there were a total of 83,000 megawatts.
In Europe, almost a quarter more was built up at 17 GW than in 2023. The strongest draft horse is Germany here with a newly awarded onshore wind capacity of 11 GW – an increase of 72 % (or 4.6 GW) compared to the previous year. “What you see clearly: The projects are there and the companies are implementing in suitable framework conditions,” explains Florian Maringer, Managing Director of IG Windkraft. “In Europe, the countries in particular are in favor of showing areas. And: the states are required to produce investment security. For example, through sufficient auction volumes and through debureaucratization. Other countries can do this significantly better than Austria. The expansion in Germany is due to binding country goals and process acceleration. Also by consistent implementation of the European renewable energy policy III) ”, Maringer continues.
Also guarantee investment security in the long term
Despite the record, GWEC also warns of increasing political instability in some markets, in particular the USA and Europe, and pointed out the need to improve the approval, network transmission and tender mechanisms in order to keep up with the global trend towards electrification and to reduce the dependency on volatile fossil fuels. “Once again, the wind industry has set up new installation records, despite the difficult macroeconomic headwind of recent years,” said Ben Backwell, CEO from GWEC. “While wind energy continues to promote investments and workplaces, improves energy security and reduces the costs for consumers, in some parts of the world we see an unstable political environment, including ideologically motivated attacks on wind energy and renewable energies and the stop of projects under construction,” said Ben Backwell, CEO from GWEC.
There are big differences worldwide in terms of the pace of expansion. The lion’s share of the new installations is clearly in China. Europe was able to assert itself as the second most important market through a recessed Germany. In January 2025, almost four times more wind power was approved in Germany than two years ago.
In the United States, new installations on land decreased by almost 40 % compared to 2023. India and Brazil are also one of the top 5 markets worldwide with an extension of over 3,000 MW each. In 2024 there was also a record year for offshore auctions: 23.2 GW were awarded in Europe, 8.4 GW in the USA, 3.3 GW in South Korea, 2.7 GW in Taiwan and 1.4 GW in Japan.
“Wind is one of the cheapest energy sources in the world and is one of the two renewable energy sources to which 95 % of the global capacity growth in renewables are eliminated in this decade. “A policy that implemented can advance an industry. One with a double return: he creates jobs and investments in the economic crisis and he frees us from fossil vice between Trump and Putin,” concluded Maringer.