Global Wind Installations Reach Record Highs in 2024 but Policy Gaps Remain

In 2024, global wind power installations surged to an all-time high, adding 117 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity. However, despite this impressive growth, the wind energy landscape is still fraught with persistent challenges, including regional disparities and structural roadblocks that threaten to slow progress.

According to the latest annual report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the surge in installations was primarily driven by a few key players dominating the market.

China led the charge, followed by the United States, Germany, India, and Brazil. These five nations now boast the highest cumulative wind capacity globally, with Brazil surpassing Spain to secure fifth place. Fifty-five countries contributed to this global expansion, which increased worldwide wind capacity to a staggering 1,136 GW.

GWEC’s chief executive, Ben Backwell, said: “Once again, the wind industry has broken new installation records despite more challenging macroeconomic headwinds over the last few years.

“While wind energy continues to drive investment and jobs, improve energy security, and lower consumer costs, we are seeing a more volatile policy environment in some parts of the world, including ideologically driven attacks on wind and renewables and the halting of under-construction projects, threatening investment certainty.

“The aggressive stoking of tariff wars adds further uncertainty to international investment decisions and threatens to disrupt the international supply chains on which the wind industry relies.”

However, the GWEC warns that these optimistic numbers hide an uneven rollout. While mature markets are capturing the lion's share of new growth, many regions—especially the Global South—struggle to keep pace. This is due to a combination of inadequate infrastructure and regulatory challenges that hinder scaling efforts.

On February 1, the United States added another layer of complexity to its clean energy journey. It signed an executive order that imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China. Research by S&P Global Ratings has since revealed that these shifting trade policies create additional obstacles for decarbonization strategies, with companies remaining cautious amid rising credit risks.

The uncertainty surrounding these policies is compounded by the 90-day funding freeze from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has already begun to slow the pace of investments in low-carbon initiatives.

The pace of wind energy growth showed considerable variation across regions in 2024.

• The Asia-Pacific region saw a modest 7% increase in installations year-over-year.

• Growth in Africa and the Middle East skyrocketed by 107%, driven by massive projects in Egypt (794 MW) and Saudi Arabia (390 MW).

• On the other hand, North America, Latin America, and Europe all witnessed declines in installations compared to the previous year due to persistent policy uncertainty, permitting delays, and sluggish auction mechanisms.

Although offshore wind remains a relatively small segment of global wind power additions, it is poised to become a major player in the energy transition. In 2024 alone, 8 GW of offshore wind capacity was added, with 56.3 GW of new projects secured through auctions.

Europe led the charge with 23.2 GW awarded, followed by China with 17.4 GW. Emerging markets, particularly in Asia, are also making significant strides, with countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan securing notable offshore commitments.

The GWEC forecasts an increasing share of offshore wind in global capacity, with its contribution rising from 11.8% in 2024 to 17.5% by 2030. By the end of the decade, annual offshore wind installations are expected to reach 34 GW, up from 16 GW in 2025.

Meanwhile, onshore wind is also thriving. Global procurement and auction volumes for onshore projects have doubled, excluding China, with Europe at 17 GW—a 24% jump from 2023. Germany spearheaded this growth with an impressive 11 GW, marking a 72% year-over-year increase.

Looking ahead, GWEC projects a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% for the wind sector through 2030, with cumulative additions expected to total 981 GW over the next six years. By 2030, annual installations could reach 194 GW.

However, the Council stresses that this ambitious growth trajectory hinges on significant structural reforms. Despite the strong market performance, concerns persist that without necessary permitting reforms, grid modernisation, and investment de-risking mechanisms, even robust progress may fall short of meeting COP28’s ambitious goal to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Key reforms, such as clearer regulatory frameworks and tools like two-sided Contracts for Difference (CFDs), will reduce investor risk and ensure the wind energy sector’s ability to meet its potential.

Backwell added: “It’s vitally important that policymakers around the world don’t take their eyes off the prize, ensure stable and predictable market frameworks, work within multilateral frameworks to ensure free and fair trade, and work with investors and industry to enable rapid deployment of clean, efficient wind power to support economic growth, resilience, and prosperity.”