Wind industry installs record capacity in 2024 despite policy instability

The latest report from Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) shows that 117GW of wind energy capacity was installed across the world last year, despite the policy instability in some markets.

The policy instability has resulted from what Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, refers to as "ideologically driven attacks on wind and renewables," which he suggests has led to the halting of projects under construction and threatened investment certainty.

Said Backwell in a release: “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."

He added that the threat of tariff wars is increasing uncertainty and could potentially disrupt supply chains. "The full costs on our industry of the wide array of declared and threatened tariffs we have seen – both general and on specific commodities such as steel - have yet to be fully calculated.”

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Backwell urges policy makers to remain focused on the goal of tripling renewables and work to ensure a stable and predictable market that facilitates free and fair trade.

Key findings from GWEC's Global Wind Report 2025:

• Last year’s growth included 109GW of new onshore wind and 8GW of offshore wind;
• In 2024, China led the way for new installations ahead of the USA, followed by Germany and India, respectively, with Brazil rounding out the top 5;
• Uzbekistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others are becoming new growth centres for wind deployment;
• The report forecasts a compound average growth rate of 8.8% for the wind industry, which means another 981GW of wind energy capacity across the globe by 2030;
• Policy reforms in the UK, Germany, South Africa, Brazil and across Asia-Pacific signal rising political will;
• Last year saw total onshore wind volume awarded in auctions and other procurement mechanisms double (excluding China);
• A total of 56.3GW of offshore wind capacity was awarded worldwide last year. Europe led the way, with 23.2GW awarded in Europe and 17.4 GW in China. South Korea awarded 3.3GW, Taiwan (China) 2.7GW and Japan 1.4GW;
• The forecast for 2025-2030 sees offshore wind rise from 16GW in 2025 to 34GW, with offshore moving from 11.8% of new capacity to 17.5% of new capacity by the end of the decade.

The report highlights that despite the impressive numbers, countries need to improve permitting, grid transmission capabilities and auctioning mechanisms to provide for electrification requirements and to continue the shift away from using fossil fuels.

The report also highlights the potential impact of misinformation campaigns, which can erode public trust and compound permitting delays. GWEC recommends countering this with transparent, community-led engagement, benefit-sharing schemes, and local ownership models.

The news comes after Equinor recently confirmed that it will cease construction of its Empire Offshore Wind project after the Trump administration issued a ‘halt work’ order on the wind farm.

Equinor’s delivery company Empire Offshore Wind LLC was told by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to stop all work on the wind farm in waters off Long Island until the approval process is completed.

According to US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, there may have been issues with the approval process, hence the need to pause construction.