Europe added 19.1GW of new wind capacity in 2025, lifting installed capacity to 304GW and pushing wind to around a fifth of electricity demand across the continent including the UK.
According to new figures from WindEurope the bulk of last year’s build was onshore wind, which accounted for about 90% of new capacity, with offshore installations slowing as developers grappled with higher costs, grid constraints and delayed projects.
Germany led Europe for new installations in absolute terms, followed by Türkiye and Sweden, while the UK added around 1.3GW.
Denmark again topped the league table for penetration, with wind supplying roughly half of national electricity demand, while UK wind covered about 31%.
Despite the steady buildout, overall wind generation in 2025 rose only modestly to around 465TWh.
WindEurope says weaker wind conditions and persistent curtailment in some markets meant output lagged behind headline capacity growth.
The report underlines a widening gap between political ambition and delivery. Europe auctioned 29.4GW of new wind capacity in 2025, down on the previous year, and permitting delays remain a structural brake on deployment across most markets.
Looking ahead, WindEurope expects installations to accelerate, with around 30GW of new wind capacity added each year on average between 2026 and 2030.
On current trajectories, total installed capacity would reach about 439GW by the end of the decade, split between roughly 366GW onshore and 73GW offshore.
That expansion is critical to meeting electricity demand that is rising as transport, heating and industry electrify.
WindEurope notes that new turbines are significantly more productive than older assets, but ageing fleets are still dragging down average performance across Europe.
Grid constraints are now a central risk.
Curtailment, slow grid reinforcement and limited connection capacity are increasingly shaping where and how fast new projects can come online, particularly in high-wind regions far from demand centres.
The report also points to a growing role for repowering as early-generation turbines reach the end of their operational lives. Replacing them with fewer, larger machines could deliver more output using existing sites and connections, but planning rules often lag behind that reality.
WindEurope concludes that wind remains one of Europe’s cheapest and fastest-to-deploy power sources.
But without faster permitting, stronger grids and more consistent auction pipelines, the sector’s contribution to energy security and decarbonisation will continue to fall short of what governments say they need.
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