Global renewable energy market enriched by 117 GW of new wind capacity in 2024, – GWEC

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has released its annual Global Wind Energy Sector Report 2025, which not only analyzes the current state of the industry globally, but also provides recommendations for improving its market and investment conditions. The Ukrainian Wind Energy Association has translated the report into Ukrainian and provided a brief analysis.

This year’s Report covers a range of relevant topics and issues, including financial and macroeconomic aspects, the evolution of wind energy technology, and the level of its social acceptance.

As for the trends in the development of onshore and offshore wind power in the world, it is worth noting that in 2024 the global renewable energy market was enriched by 117 GW of new wind power capacity, which was the best annual result in history. The growth of new generation in the global energy sector amounted to 20%.

Last year, 109 GW of new onshore wind capacity was added – a record that exceeded the 100 GW mark for the second year in a row. In contrast, the offshore wind sector has seen a decline: only 8 GW of offshore wind farms were added, which is 26% less than in 2023.

At the same time, 2024 was a record year for auctions: 56.3 GW of offshore wind capacity was allocated, of which 23.2 GW was in Europe.

The total capacity of wind power in the world is now 1136 GW (+11% compared to 2023). Onshore wind power exceeded 1,000 GW of total capacity for the first time – also +11%.

Geographically, the development of wind energy remains uneven, but with positive developments. Asia-Pacific countries remain the leading markets with 75% of the global market, but the emergence of new players, in particular Uzbekistan, indicates a scaling of the market and a gradual increase in the competitive environment.

The top five global leaders in terms of new wind power capacity in 2024 were China, the United States, Germany, India, and Brazil. Germany and India moved up one position compared to the previous year, while Brazil dropped two positions to fifth place. Together, these five countries accounted for 81% of all new capacity added, up 1% year-on-year.

In Europe, 16.4 GW of new wind capacity was commissioned last year, of which 12.9 GW was in the EU-27. Despite the fact that the total installed capacity on the European continent, as well as its share in the global market, decreased by 10% and 2%, respectively, compared to 2023, Europe remains the second largest wind energy market in the world. However, GWEC analysts are convinced that “the current pace of annual wind auctions in Europe is insufficient and needs to accelerate significantly if the EU is to achieve its energy security and climate goals.”

North America retained its third place in the global ranking, but its share of the global market in 2024 decreased by 33% compared to the previous year.

Latin America ranked fourth, but its market share decreased by 1%, mainly due to a 30% drop in new capacity in Brazil compared to 2023.

Africa and the Middle East remains the smallest regional market, although the volume of wind capacity commissioned in 2024 doubled compared to the previous year.

As for further development, GWEC forecasts 138 GW of new capacity to be installed in 2025, which will be a new record. By 2030, it is planned to commission 982 GW, or an average of 164 GW per year. The average annual growth rate is 8.8% CAGR, and it is driven by Europe’s desire for energy independence from Russia.