Global Wind Installs Record 165 GW in 2025 as Energy Security Concerns Deepen
Updated
Updated · Businessday · Jun 7
Global Wind Installs Record 165 GW in 2025 as Energy Security Concerns Deepen
1 articles · Updated · Businessday · Jun 7
Summary
A record 165 GW of new wind capacity was installed worldwide in 2025, lifting cumulative installations above 1,299 GW, according to GWEC's Global Wind Report 2026.
GWEC said governments are increasingly treating wind as an energy-security asset as Middle East conflict, Strait of Hormuz disruptions and volatile fossil-fuel markets expose import-dependent economies.
China led the expansion with nearly 120 GW of new capacity, while India added 6.34 GW of onshore wind—up 85% from a year earlier—and markets including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Vietnam also grew.
About three-quarters of the world's population live in net fossil-fuel-importing countries; GWEC estimates renewable deployment has cut coal imports by 700 million tonnes and gas imports by 400 billion cubic metres since 2010.
That shift has generated roughly $1.3 trillion in savings, GWEC said, reinforcing wind's role not just in decarbonization but in industrial competitiveness, price stability and economic resilience.
With wind capacity soaring, is the world's power grid actually ready for the energy transition, or just the energy generation?
Has the global rush for wind power traded fossil fuel dependency for reliance on a few turbine manufacturing superpowers?
As wind farms become vital national infrastructure, are they also creating new, more vulnerable targets for sabotage and cyberattacks?
Wind Power’s 2025 Boom: Drivers, Disparities, and the Urgent Path to 2030
Overview
In 2025, global wind power reached a record 1,299 GW, driven by the addition of 165 GW in new capacity—a 40% jump from the previous period. This surge was fueled by the lingering fossil fuel energy crisis, which was intensified by geopolitical events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The crisis led to soaring energy bills and a severe cost of living crisis in the EU and UK, costing them $1.8 trillion between 2022 and 2025. As a result, many countries accelerated wind power adoption, deploying over 28,000 new turbines across 57 countries to boost energy security and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.