In 2025, Europe witnessed a significant increase in wind power capacity, with a total growth of 19.1 GW. The European Union alone contributed 15.1 GW to this expansion, primarily driven by the dominance of onshore projects, which accounted for approximately 90% of the new installations. By year’s end, the cumulative wind capacity across Europe reached 304 GW, with land-based turbines making up 87% of this total. Within the EU, installed capacity rose to 246 GW, where an impressive 91% was attributed to onshore developments.
The dynamics of the market included both advancements and setbacks; while nearly 1 GW of older wind facilities were dismantled, about 2 GW of repowered projects commenced operations. This resulted in effective net additions totaling 18.2 GW. However, overall electricity generation from wind in the EU saw a slight decline compared to 2024, totaling 465 TWh, which is approximately 10 TWh less than the previous year due to notably weaker wind conditions early in the year. Wind energy maintained its share at 19% of total electricity demand within the EU, which remained just below 2.5 PWh.
Germany, as a frontrunner in new installations, added around 5.7 GW, including 503 MW from offshore projects, culminating in a total operational capacity of 77.7 GW. Following Germany was Spain with an addition of 33.2 GW, all from onshore sources, while the United Kingdom reached a total of 32.9 GW, with half derived from offshore developments. Other notable contributors included France, Sweden, and Turkey, which together represent about two-thirds of Europe’s installed wind capacity.
The offshore segment experienced a slowdown, with only 1.96 GW connected to the grid—marking the lowest annual addition since 2016—largely due to construction delays affecting various projects. Only the UK, Germany, and France saw expansions in their offshore fleets during this period, although industry experts anticipate a rebound in this sector for 2026.
Southeastern Europe also demonstrated robust growth; Turkey emerged as a strong performer by commissioning an impressive 2.1 GW of new onshore capacity, bringing its cumulative total to 15.9 GW. Projections indicate that Turkey could add another 10.9 GW by 2030, potentially surpassing a total of over 26 GW. Greece contributed an additional 340 MW, reaching a total of 5.7 GW ; Romania added330 MW to its3.5 GW total; and Serbia increased its capacity by199 MW to reach807 MW. In terms of electricity share generated from wind resources, Greece leads at21%followed by Croatia at17%while both Turkey and Romania meet roughly11% of their demand through wind energy.
The outlook for Europe’s wind energy sector remains optimistic; WindEurope has forecasted an additional installation target of around151 GW by 2030, which would elevate total capacity to approximately439 GW (with about77% expected to be onshore). For the EU specifically, forecasts suggest about112 GW of new installations will bring total capacity to around343 GW —still short of the official target set at425 GW.
A key factor influencing future growth will be repowering initiatives; it is anticipated that by 2030,16 GW of existing farms will retire while being replaced with approximately17 GW of upgraded projects—effectively modernizing output capabilities while reducing turbine numbers by about one-third.
