Key figures (as of 31 October 2026)
| Wind capacity added worldwide, as first reported by the statistics body | 116.0 GW (2023), 113.2 GW (2024), 158.7 GW (2025) |
| Change in additions, 2025 compared with 2024, as first reported | up 40.2%, on the Centre's own calculation |
| Global wind capacity, end of 2025 | 1,291 GW, up 14.0% on the end of 2024 |
| Onshore and offshore additions, 2025 | about 150.0 GW onshore and 8.6 GW offshore, on the Centre's own calculation from the statistics body's tables |
| China, wind capacity added in 2025 | 119.4 GW, about 75% of the global figure, on the Centre's own calculation |
| Industry association count of new installations | 116.6 GW (2023), 117 GW (2024), 164.6 GW (2025) |
| Industry association outlook, April 2026 | 178 GW in 2026 and 186.5 GW in 2027 |
| Industry association outlook, 2026 to 2030 | 969 GW in total, an average of about 194 GW a year |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 GW of new wind projects reached financial close in November 2025; its first wind farm, 400 MW, has operated since 2022 |
A sharp step up in 2025
For two years wind additions held steady. The statistics body first reported 116.0 GW for 2023 and 113.2 GW for 2024, 2.4% less than the 2023 figure, on the Centre's own calculation. In 2025 additions jumped to 158.7 GW, and global wind capacity reached 1,291 GW at the end of the year, 14.0% more than at the end of 2024. Wind made up about 23% of the 692 GW of renewable capacity added in 2025, on the Centre's own calculation, second only to solar.
Most of the new capacity is on land. On the Centre's own calculation from the statistics body's tables, about 150.0 GW of the 2025 total was onshore and about 8.6 GW offshore. Offshore wind made up about 7.1% of total wind capacity at the end of 2025.
The statistics body revises earlier years as new data arrive. Its latest tables put 2024 additions at 114.5 GW, against the 113.2 GW first reported, on the Centre's own calculation. This study uses only first-published figures.
China leads, others follow
China added 119.4 GW of wind capacity in 2025, about 75% of the global figure, on the Centre's own calculation. Its total wind capacity reached about 641 GW at the end of 2025 in the statistics body's tables. India added 6.3 GW, and the United States, Germany, Brazil, Türkiye and France also added significant capacity. The industry association expects China to account for about 63% of new installations in 2026, and growth in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East to pick up from 2027.
The industry outlook
The international wind industry trade body counts new installations in a slightly different way from the statistics body, and its figures have been higher: 164.6 GW against 158.7 GW for 2025, and 117 GW against 113.2 GW for 2024. On the Centre's own calculation, the statistics body's 2025 figure was about 96.4% of the association's.
In April 2026 the association forecast 178 GW of new installations in 2026, 8.1% above its 2025 count, and 186.5 GW in 2027, 4.8% above its 2026 forecast, both on the Centre's own calculation. At the 2025 ratio between the two counts, the 2027 forecast equals about 179.8 GW on the statistics body's basis, on the Centre's own calculation.
The association's forecasts have recently been too low. In April 2025 it forecast 138 GW for 2025, and its later count came to 164.6 GW, 19.3% more, on the Centre's own calculation. Its forecast for 2027 has risen from 160 GW in April 2025 to 186.5 GW in April 2026. It has said it plans an updated outlook, which its publication schedule lists for November 2026.
Saudi Arabia: wind at giga scale
Saudi Arabia is building wind power at a new scale. In November 2025, two wind projects of 2,000 MW and 1,000 MW reached financial close as part of a 15 GW package of solar and wind plants worth USD 8.2 billion under the national renewable energy programme. The package is expected to start operating in the second half of 2027 and the first half of 2028. The kingdom's first wind farm, the 400 MW Dumat Al Jandal plant in Al Jouf, with 99 turbines, has been in operation since 2022. It was developed by a consortium that includes an Abu Dhabi clean energy company, a sign of the UAE's growing role in renewable power across the region.
What it means
Wind power stepped up sharply in 2025 after two flat years, and the industry outlook points to further growth in 2026 and 2027. On the Centre's estimates, the combined weight on 160 GW or more in 2027 is 66%, and the combined weight on 180 GW or more is 35%.
Scenarios: global wind capacity added in 2027
These probabilities are the Centre's analytical estimates, reasoned from the figures above. Because the bands are ordered, the forecast is scored with both the multi-category Brier score and the ranked probability score.
The variable is the wind power capacity, onshore and offshore together, added worldwide in calendar year 2027, in gigawatts, as first published by the intergovernmental renewables statistics body in its annual capacity statistics, usually released in late March of the following year, so in about March 2028. The figure used is the global wind capacity added in 2027 as stated in that first release to one decimal place. If the release states it only to a whole number or not at all, the figure is the difference between the world wind capacity totals for the end of 2027 and the end of 2026 in the same first release, converted from megawatts to gigawatts. The figure is rounded half up to one decimal place, once, before it is placed in a band, so 179.95 GW counts as 180.0 GW. Only the first-published figure counts. Later revisions, forecasts, partial-year figures and figures from other bodies do not count, except under the fallback below. If the statistics body renames or replaces its annual capacity statistics, or rebases its wind series, the first-published 2027 figure in the officially named successor release is used. If the statistics body publishes no 2027 figure by 30 June 2028, the global new wind installations for 2027 as first published by the international wind industry trade body in its annual global report are used, rounded the same way. Withdrawn if neither is available by 31 December 2028. The bands cover every possible value, and each edge falls in the higher band: exactly 140.0 GW falls in band 2, exactly 160.0 GW in band 3, exactly 180.0 GW in band 4 and exactly 200.0 GW in band 5.
Sharp fall: under 140 GW
On the Centre's own calculation, this needs a 2027 figure more than 11.8% below the 2025 figure of 158.7 GW. It would mean a return towards the levels of 2023 and 2024, most likely through a slowdown in China, which supplied about three quarters of 2025 additions. The industry outlook points the other way, so the weight is low, but China's weight in the total means a fall is possible.
Near 2025 level: 140 GW to under 160 GW
This band holds the 2025 figure of 158.7 GW. On the Centre's own calculation, it covers a 2027 figure from 11.8% below to 0.8% above 2025. It would follow if China holds roughly steady and growth elsewhere stays modest. That is a real possibility, so the weight is solid.
Moderate growth: 160 GW to under 180 GW
This is the most likely band. It holds the industry association's 2027 forecast converted to the statistics body's basis, about 179.8 GW, and its 2026 forecast on the same basis, about 171.6 GW, both on the Centre's own calculation. It covers growth of 0.8% to 13.4% on 2025. It would follow if China stays near its 2025 level and other markets grow as the association expects. It gets the highest weight.
Strong growth: 180 GW to under 200 GW
This band holds the association's 2027 forecast on its own count, 186.5 GW. On the Centre's own calculation, it needs growth of 13.4% to 26.0% on 2025. The association's recent forecasts have proved too low, and the association expects annual offshore additions to triple between 2025 and 2030, so the weight is solid.
Very strong growth: 200 GW or more
On the Centre's own calculation, this needs a 2027 figure at least 26.0% above 2025. The jump of 40.2% from 2024 to 2025 shows that large rises can happen within a year, so the band keeps some weight. It is above every published forecast for 2027, so the weight is low. Why band 3 carries more weight than band 4. Band 4 holds the industry association's own 2027 forecast, but the association counts new installations differently from the statistics body whose figure resolves this study. The statistics body's first-published figures have been below its counts in each of the last three years, by 0.5% in 2023, 3.2% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025, on the Centre's own calculation. At the 2025 gap, its 2027 forecast of 186.5 GW equals about 179.8 GW on the resolving basis, just inside band 3.
What to watch
- Industry outlook update: the wind industry association's updated outlook for 2026 to 2030, listed for November 2026.
- Intergovernmental energy forecast: an intergovernmental energy body's annual renewables market forecast, due on 6 November 2026, with updated wind forecasts to 2031.
- The 2026 global figure: the statistics body's first figure for 2026, usually released in late March 2027, as a new base for 2027.
- China: official annual figures for 2026 and the pace of building in 2027.
- Offshore wind: commissioning of large offshore projects due in 2027.
- Saudi Arabia: progress on the 3 GW of wind projects that reached financial close in November 2025.
Figures as of 31 October 2026. Probabilities are analytical estimates by the Ghaf Centre for Studies & Research.