This year’s guide to the wind industry is out now. The Global Wind Energy Council’s Market Intelligence team brings together data that is not available elsewhere, and the Policy Team presents analysis of the main challenges facing the wind industry and explores solutions to them. The report also includes a Markets to Watch section with details on the key markets, and insights from leading industry figures.
The 2025 Global Wind Report is now available to download. [Source: GWEC]
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, says: “We hope you will enjoy reading this year’s Global Wind Report as much as the GWEC team has enjoyed writing it. This year’s report finds the industry delivered another record year of new capacity in 2024 but also sees an industry ready to deliver much more. We look forward to working with all stakeholders, alongside our partners in governments and key institutions around the world, to navigate the challenges investigated in this report, and maximise the benefits of wind technology for people in every region of the world.”
A record-breaking 117 GW installed in 2024
The 2025 Global Wind Report captures a pivotal moment for the wind energy sector. With 117 GW installed in 2024, wind power is advancing into new geographies and consolidating its position as a core pillar of the global energy transition. Yet, this momentum is not enough. To deliver the full benefits of wind energy and align with the COP28 agreement to triple global renewable capacity by 2030, wind deployment must scale up rapidly.
Overview
The report assesses where the industry stands today, highlighting new legislative wins and market expansion, confronting critical challenges like macroeconomic pressures, fragmented trade, supply chain misalignment, and disinformation. The report sets out a roadmap to overcome these barriers, backed by a clear call to action. With supportive policies, collaborative planning, and targeted investment, wind energy can scale up rapidly to unlock economic growth, energy security, and a clean energy future.
Key recommendations
The 2025 report presents a call to action: governments, industry and civil society need to work together to accelerate wind energy deployment at scale. To achieve this, GWEC urges specific steps, as outlined below.
- Create demand certainty: Reform auctions, align procurement with national targets, and provide long-term revenue visibility.
- De-risk investment: Use incentives like tax credits, reduce permitting delays, and implement investor-friendly policies in emerging markets.
- Industrialise for scale: Standardise turbine components, embrace modular manufacturing, and automate production to boost efficiency and resilience.
- Enable fair trade: Replace protectionist measures with coordinated, trade-friendly green industrial policies.
- Modernise infrastructure: Expand and digitise grid systems, accelerate interconnection, and integrate flexibility solutions.
- Build social licence: Counter disinformation with transparent, community-led engagement, benefit-sharing schemes, and local ownership models.
This roadmap lays the foundation to scale from today's growth trajectory to the 320 GW per year needed by 2030 – unlocking wind’s full value for economies, people and the planet.
Key insights
- Emerging markets surge: Uzbekistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others are becoming new growth centres for wind deployment.
- Policy momentum: Legislative and regulatory reforms in the UK, Germany, South Africa, Brazil and across Asia-Pacific signal rising political will.
- Grid and supply chain bottlenecks: Modernisation of electricity grids and supply chains is crucial to keeping pace with demand.
- Disinformation risk: Misinformation campaigns are eroding public trust and creating permitting delays in key markets.
For more information visit: https://www.gwec.net/reports/globalwindreport
