A record 117 gigawatts (GW) of new wind energy capacity was added globally in 2024, according to the latest Global Wind Report published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) on Tuesday. However, the report highlights significant disparities in installation rates across regions, with most growth concentrated in a few mature markets.
The 2024 figures include 109GW of onshore wind and 8GW of offshore wind installations, bringing total global cumulative capacity to 1,136GW. Wind turbines were deployed in 55 countries last year, yet over half of the new capacity came from a small number of countries, led by China, followed by the United States, Germany, India, and Brazil.
China maintained its position as the global leader in new wind capacity installations, while Brazil surpassed Spain to join the top five countries in terms of total cumulative capacity.
“Once again, the wind industry has broken new installation records, despite more challenging macroeconomic headwinds over the last few years,” said Ben Backwell, GWEC’s chief executive.
While some regions saw strong growth—particularly in Africa and the Middle East, which recorded a 107% year-on-year increase driven by major installations in Egypt and Saudi Arabia—others, including North America, Latin America, and Europe, experienced a slowdown compared to 2023.
GWEC forecasts sustained growth for the sector, projecting a compound average annual growth rate of 8.8% through to 2030. If achieved, this would result in an additional 981GW of wind capacity installed by the end of the decade. The council’s Market Intelligence service predicts record installations each year, peaking at 194GW in 2030.
However, the report also warns of rising policy instability in several regions, citing permitting delays, grid bottlenecks, and auction design issues that may hinder the pace of deployment. Backwell emphasized the risk of emerging trade tensions and political uncertainty.
“The aggressive stoking of tariff wars adds further uncertainty to international investment decisions and threatens to disrupt the international supply chains which the wind industry relies on,” he said. “It’s vitally important that policy makers around the world don’t take their eyes off the prize.”
GWEC urged governments to maintain stable and predictable regulatory frameworks and to support multilateral cooperation to ensure the wind sector can meet global climate and energy targets, including the aim of tripling renewable capacity by 2030.
