Wind Power Industry

Wind power is the industry built around converting wind energy into useful work, historically through sails and windmills and today overwhelmingly through wind turbines gathered into farms and connected to electrical grids. In 2025 wind supplied about 2,700 terawatt-hours of electricity, over 8 percent of the world's total, and global installed capacity exceeded 800 gigawatts after roughly 100 gigawatts of new additions in 2021, led by China and the United States. By 2024, 30 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind, and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015, though analysts say growth still needs to accelerate to meet climate targets. The industry spans onshore wind, the larger segment, and offshore wind, which made up roughly a tenth of new installations, with wind now ranking among the cheapest sources of new electricity in many markets, often undercutting new coal or gas plants.

Wind power is the industry built around converting wind energy into useful work, historically through sails and windmills and today overwhelmingly through wind turbines gathered into farms and connected to electrical grids. In 2025 wind supplied about 2,700 terawatt-hours of electricity, over 8 percent of the world's total, and global installed capacity exceeded 800 gigawatts after roughly 100 gigawatts of new additions in 2021, led by China and the United States. By 2024, 30 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind, and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015, though analysts say growth still needs to accelerate to meet climate targets. The industry spans onshore wind, the larger segment, and offshore wind, which made up roughly a tenth of new installations, with wind now ranking among the cheapest sources of new electricity in many markets, often undercutting new coal or gas plants.