2023: A Record-Breaking Year for Global Wind Energy Growth

While the days may seem hotter, the silver lining is that renewable energy production continues to soar.

In 2023, wind energy experienced its best year on record, with 116 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity installed globally, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). This represents a 50% increase over 2022, underscoring wind power’s speeding up role in the global energy transition. China led in both offshore and onshore wind installations, followed by the United States, Brazil, and Germany. Europe also had a record-breaking year, especially with the Netherlands contributing significantly to 3.8 GW of new offshore wind capacity, setting a strong pace for the continent’s renewable growth.

While wind power growth is concentrated in a few major countries, other regions are also scaling up. Africa and the Middle East saw a significant surge, adding nearly 1 GW of new wind capacity in 2023—almost triple their growth from the previous year. Although this progress is a positive step toward combating climate change, GWEC stresses that annual wind energy growth needs to reach at least 320 GW by 2030 to fulfill the COP28 target of tripling global renewable capacity by the end of the decade. GWEC CEO Ben Backwell highlighted the impressive growth but emphasized the need for policy support to further unlock the industry’s potential.

Renewable energy as a whole is on a rapid expansion path, with seven countries now generating nearly all of their electricity from renewable sources, primarily through hydropower and wind. While wind energy’s role is expanding, solar power will take a leading position, accounting for 73% of renewable growth in 2023 and now representing 37% of total global renewable capacity. Experts predict that solar will surpass other renewables and become the primary global energy source by 2050 due to advancing technology and decreasing costs.