Wind energy supplied an estimated 8% of global electricity generation in 2024, while annual additions reached about 120 GW. The figures below distinguish operating capacity, nameplate capacity, generation, pipeline potential and forecasts across global and U.S. markets.
Key Wind Energy Statistics
These highlights summarize the most broadly useful measures across the wind sector:
- In 2024, wind supplied 8% of global electricity generation worldwide.
- In 2024, global wind generation increased by about 180 TWh worldwide.
- In 2024, around 120 GW of wind capacity was added globally.
- In 2024, China added about 80 GW of wind capacity.
- In 2023, global land-based wind additions reached 117 GW.
- At the end of 2023, global cumulative land-based wind capacity reached 1,021 GW.
- In 2023, U.S. land-based wind capacity additions totaled 6,474 MW.
- At the end of 2023, U.S. cumulative land-based wind capacity was nearly 150,500 MW.
- In 2023, U.S. wind generation totaled 425,235 GWh.
- In 2023, the U.S. wind fleet had a 33.5% average capacity factor.
- In 2023, Texas had 40.7 GW of installed wind capacity, equal to 28% of the U.S. total.
- By May 31, 2024, the U.S. offshore wind development and operational pipeline reached 80,523 MW.
- At the end of 2023, global operating offshore wind capacity reached 68,258 MW.
- At the end of 2023, more than 13,096 offshore wind turbines were operating globally.
- Through 2023, U.S. distributed wind capacity totaled 1,110 MW.
- In 2023, U.S. small wind installations totaled 1,994 turbines.
- In 2024, onshore wind had a weighted-average LCOE of $0.034 per kWh for global new generation.
- In 2023 data reported in 2024, U.S. land-based wind supported 125,580 jobs.
Contents
- Global wind capacity and electricity generation
- Wind energy statistics by region and leading markets
- U.S. land-based wind data and turbine trends
- Offshore wind capacity, projects and pipeline
- Distributed wind deployment and funding
- Wind energy costs, jobs, investment and 2030 trends
Global Wind Capacity and Electricity Generation
The International Energy Agency’s Global Energy Review 2025: Electricity reports 2024 values as estimates in its summary. Globally, wind generation rose by about 180 TWh, and wind supplied 8% of electricity generation.
- Annual global wind capacity additions were around 120 GW in 2024, an IEA estimate for the world.
- Wind represented 17% of global renewable capacity additions in 2024, based on estimated additions.
- Solar PV and wind together represented 95% of global renewable capacity growth in 2024; this combined figure is not wind alone.
- China added about 80 GW of wind capacity in 2024, with the country figure rounded by the IEA.
These measures describe additions and generation, not the same thing as cumulative operating capacity. Capacity means nameplate capacity or potential generating capacity unless a fact explicitly refers to generation, operating capacity or pipeline potential.
The IEA’s Renewables 2024: Global overview places variable renewables below 45% of global renewable electricity generation before its 2024–2030 forecast period. Its main-case forecast says variable renewables could account for two-thirds of global renewable electricity generation in 2030, although actual deployment and curtailment may differ.
Wind Energy Statistics by Region and Leading Markets
Regional renewable shares provide context for wind’s position in electricity systems, but they are not wind-only measures unless stated otherwise.
| Region or market | 2024 measure | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 23% | Renewables as a share of electricity generation |
| European Union | Nearly 50% | Renewables as a share of electricity generation |
| China | About 35% | Renewables as a share of electricity generation |
| India | Over 20% | Renewables as a share of electricity supply |
Source: Global Energy Review 2025: Electricity. The percentages are IEA estimates, and each row covers all renewables rather than wind alone.
China accounted for almost two-thirds of all renewable capacity connected to the grid worldwide in 2024. By mid-2024, China had surpassed its combined 1,200 GW solar-and-wind capacity ambition six years early; that milestone is not a wind-only capacity figure.
In the European Union, wind capacity additions were 20% lower in 2024 than in 2023, according to the IEA’s rounded comparison. The change concerns capacity additions, not the EU’s total wind fleet or generation.
Global land-based wind data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition show 117 GW of additions in 2023 and 1,021 GW of cumulative capacity at year-end. These figures cover the land-based segment worldwide.
U.S. Land-Based Wind Data and Turbine Trends
DOE’s land-based reporting primarily covers U.S. utility-scale turbines above 100 kW. In 2023, the United States added 6,474 MW and reached nearly 150,500 MW of cumulative land-based wind capacity.
- Utility-scale wind power was installed in 42 U.S. states in 2023.
- U.S. land-based wind expansion attracted $10.8 billion in 2023.
- Texas added 1,323 MW in 2023, while Illinois added 928 MW.
- Four U.S. states exceeded 40% wind energy penetration in 2023; the report’s measure refers to state electricity supply or generation context.
New turbines continued to grow in rated size. The average nameplate capacity of newly installed U.S. turbines was 3.4 MW in 2023, 5% higher than in 2022, while the average rotor diameter was 133.8 meters and average hub height was 103.4 meters.
The EIA reports that U.S. wind generation totaled 425,235 GWh in 2023, down 2.1% from 434,297 GWh in 2022. Weather and wind-speed conditions influenced that year-over-year result, so capacity growth does not guarantee higher annual generation.
| U.S. wind measure | 2023 result | Comparison or definition |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 147.5 GW | Up from 47.0 GW in 2010 |
| Average capacity factor | 33.5% | Actual fleet output relative to nameplate potential |
| August–December generation | 2.4% higher | Same months versus 2022 |
| Texas generation | 4.4% higher | 2023 versus 2022 |
Source: Wind generation declined in 2023 for the first time since the 1990s. The capacity-factor measure is annual fleet output relative to potential nameplate output.
Texas had 40.7 GW of installed wind capacity in 2023, equal to 28% of the U.S. total; this is installed capacity, not Texas’s generation share. The EIA also reports that the August–December subperiod increased even though full-year generation declined.
Offshore Wind Capacity, Projects and Pipeline
Offshore wind statistics require a clear distinction between operating projects and proposed or developing capacity. DOE’s Offshore Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition reports a global operating fleet and a separate U.S. development and operational pipeline.
At the end of 2023, the global operating offshore fleet had 68,258 MW across 319 projects, with more than 13,096 turbines operating. Global offshore wind added 6,326 MW during 2023.
The U.S. development and operational pipeline reached 80,523 MW by May 31, 2024, 53% larger than in the previous DOE report edition. Pipeline potential is not operating capacity.
- Eight proposed Gulf of Maine leasing areas contributed 15,702 MW of pipeline growth through May 31, 2024.
- Two proposed Mid-Atlantic leasing areas contributed 4,499 MW of pipeline growth.
- Two proposed Oregon leasing areas contributed 3,156 MW of pipeline growth.
- The United States had three fully operational offshore wind projects as of May 31, 2024.
South Fork Wind, fully commissioned on March 14, 2024, is a 132 MW commercial-scale offshore wind farm in New York. Its nameplate project capacity should not be confused with annual electricity generation.
Source: Offshore Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition.
Distributed Wind Deployment and Funding
Distributed wind is not interchangeable with utility-scale wind. DOE defines the segment around turbines connected at the distribution level or serving local or off-grid loads.
Through 2023, U.S. distributed wind capacity installed from 2003 through 2023 totaled 1,110 MW, and more than 92,000 distributed wind turbines had been installed across all 50 states. The turbine count includes distributed applications and does not describe the utility-scale fleet.
Small wind is a subset of distributed wind. In 2023, U.S. small wind installations totaled 1,994 turbines and 2.3 MW of capacity, with $15.2 million in associated funding.
| Small-wind measure | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Turbines installed | 1,745 | 1,994 |
| Funding | $14.6 million | $15.2 million |
Source: Distributed Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition. The funding figures are nominal dollars as presented, and the table covers the small-wind subset.
The USDA REAP program set aside over $303 million for underutilized technologies and technical assistance in the allocation referenced by the 2024 report. That is a program-wide allocation, not wind-only funding.
Wind Energy Costs, Jobs, Investment and 2030 Trends
The IEA’s Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025: Power reports a 2024 weighted-average levelised cost of electricity for global new generation. LCOE is not the same as a retail electricity price.
| Technology | 2024 weighted-average LCOE | Geography and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Onshore wind | $0.034/kWh | Global new generation |
| Solar PV | $0.043/kWh | Global new generation |
| Hydropower | $0.057/kWh | Global new generation |
Source: Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025: Power. The solar PV and hydropower figures are comparator technologies, not wind measures.
Employment and investment figures are scope-specific rather than measures of the entire global wind economy.
- The U.S. land-based wind industry supported 125,580 jobs in 2023 data reported in 2024.
- U.S. offshore wind supply-chain investment reached $2.1 billion since 2023, including ports, vessels, workforce development, research and supply chain activity.
- Thirteen U.S. states had policies collectively supporting 115,130 MW of offshore wind by 2050.
The policy figure is a target, not installed capacity or guaranteed deployment. Similarly, offshore pipeline and forecast additions should not be treated as operating capacity.
The IEA’s 2030 main-case forecast for variable renewables—two-thirds of global renewable electricity generation—describes a possible future mix, while the 2024 global capacity and generation figures are estimates for a completed measurement year. Keeping those categories separate is essential when comparing wind adoption, system scale and outcomes.
Source: Wind Market Reports: 2024 Edition.