The first half of 2026 saw a noticeable slowdown in the growth of global wind energy. The total capacity of new installations reached 58.9 GW, whereas in the same period last year, wind turbines with a capacity of 71 GW were installed worldwide. However, experts suggest that new wind generation for the full year will not be lower than last year.
This is according to a new report by the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).
The decline in wind energy growth in the first six months of 2026 amounted to 18% compared to last year. Nevertheless, the 58.9 GW installed still exceeds the figures for 2024 and 2023, which gives analysts hope that the situation will "recover" in the second half of the year.
Overall, WWEA expects around 173 GW of installations to be added worldwide this year – no less than in the previous year. In that case, by the end of 2026, global wind power capacity will grow to 1,521 GW. This will give wind energy a 12% share of the global energy supply. Forecasts for 2030 are also quite optimistic – 2,250 GW of total wind farm capacity.
Source: WWEA
Dynamics in individual countries
China remains the undisputed leader in wind energy, accounting for 52% of global wind capacity. However, during the analysed period, China's share of new wind turbines was 66% of the total, compared to 80% a year earlier. In the first half of the year, the country added 38.7 GW, which is 25% less than in the previous year.
In the first half of 2025, seven more countries added over 1 GW of new wind generation. In 2026, there were only three such countries – the USA (6.3 GW), Germany (3.3 GW) and India (2.9 GW).
The United States almost tripled its new capacity, and this pace is likely to continue until 2027. This is because regulatory changes introduced by the new administration will take effect later, which, according to WWEA, could lead to the collapse of the US wind market.
Germany's figures were also a record for the country, almost doubling the generation growth of the previous period. New installations may peak in 2026, with unclear short-term prospects.
India dropped from second to fourth place in terms of wind energy growth. In 2025, its wind capacity growth was 0.6 GW higher than this year.
France, Denmark and the United Kingdom can be described as medium-sized markets, adding 583, 495 and 486 MW respectively in the first half of the year. WWEA also mentions Ukraine, which added 415 MW of wind generation.
Source: WWEA
"When WWEA was founded 25 years ago, installed wind power capacity was around 20,000 MW. Today, it is about to reach a figure 75 times greater. People all over the world have contributed to this success story," emphasised WWEA Secretary General Stefan Gsänger.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the total capacity of wind installations amounts to 1.115 GW. Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts are among the leaders. Over 37% of this volume was commissioned in the first half of 2026 alone. This refers to 70 installations with a total capacity of 414.8 MW.
