Global wind power installations slowed in the first half of 2026, with 59 GW of new capacity added compared with 71 GW in the same period of 2025. However, the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA), in its Half-year Report 2026, expects installations to accelerate in the second half of the year, potentially bringing annual additions close to the 173 GW recorded in 2025. Over the 12 months from July 2025 to June 2026, new wind power installations totalled 159 GW, up from 152 GW in the preceding 12-month period. This indicates that the industry continues to expand despite the slowdown during the first half of 2026.
Global installed wind capacity reached 1,407 GW and is expected to rise to 1,521 GW by the end of 2026. By 2030, total capacity is projected to reach at least 2,250 GW.
The global growth rate was 4.37% in the first half of 2026, down from 6.06% a year earlier. On a 12-month basis, growth stood at 12.76%, compared with 13.88% in the previous period. For the full year, WWEA expects growth of 12.84%, below the 14.59% recorded in 2025.
China remained the world's largest wind power market, adding 38.7 GW in the first half of 2026. This was below the 51.4 GW installed in the same period of 2025, but above the additions recorded in 2024 and 2023, at 25.8 GW and 23.8 GW respectively.
China's cumulative installed capacity exceeded 730 GW, representing 52% of global capacity. Its share of new installations fell to 66%, compared with almost 80% in 2025.
Only three other countries added more than 1 GW of wind capacity during the first half of 2026: the USA, with 6.3 GW; Germany, with 3.3 GW; and India, with 2.9 GW. Seven countries passed this threshold in the first half of 2025.
The USA more than tripled its new installations to 6.3 GW. WWEA expects this momentum to continue into 2027, although it warns that legislative and regulatory changes under the current administration could lead to a substantial contraction in the market over the medium term.
Germany installed a record 3.3 GW, almost twice the amount added in the first half of 2025. However, uncertainty over government policy could affect the market's short-term outlook.
India added 2.9 GW, down from 3.5 GW in the first half of 2025. Although the country fell from second to fourth place among markets for new installations, the report points to the continued influence of long-term policy support.
France added 583 MW, Denmark 495 MW and the UK 486 MW. France and the UK recorded substantial declines in new installations. Ukraine added 415 MW, which the report highlights as evidence of the resilience of its wind sector despite continued Russian attacks.
Brazil experienced a sharp fall in new installations, from 1.6 GW in the first half of 2025 to just 164 MW in the first half of 2026, a decline of almost 90%.
The first half of 2026 demonstrates the continued growth of the global wind power sector. Driven by four major markets, particularly China, but also the USA, Germany and India, wind power installations are expected to match or slightly exceed the record level reached in 2025. With 173 GW of new capacity expected to be installed in 2026, global installed wind capacity is projected to surpass 1.5 TW by the end of the year.
