Wind · one-twelfth of the world's electricity

NewTech Energy

Wind power

Mainstream

Blades that turn the force of the wind into electricity, on land and at sea. About one-twelfth of the world's electricity, when the wind blows.

Estimate
about 8.5%

of the world's electricity generated by wind in 2025, according to Ember (estimate).

Ember - World ↗

What problem it solves

Generating electricity with no fuel, and with no CO₂ emissions while running.

The limits

Every technology has them. A sheet without limits would be a sales pitch.

  • Output varies with the wind: grids, storage or back-up plants are needed. With no outlet, a growing share of wind and solar power is wasted in several countries.
  • Grids are congested: in 2023, at least 3,000 GW of renewable projects were waiting for a connection, according to the IEA.
  • Offshore wind is going through a rough patch: projects cancelled or delayed in Europe, Japan and India, rising costs; the European Union added only about 1 GW of it in 2025.
  • Materials: an onshore farm needs nine times more minerals than a gas plant, and the rare earths in magnets are under Chinese export controls.
  • Wildlife and end of life: a real risk for some migratory bats; about 10% of a turbine's mass, mostly the blades, remains hard to recycle.

From a Scottish garden to the open sea

Wind produced 0.2% of the world's electricity in 2000, and about 8.5% in 2025.

1887

In Scotland, James Blyth powers his holiday home with the first electric wind turbine. Abundant coal and oil will long hold wind back.

Prototype
1991

In Denmark, the first offshore wind farm: 11 turbines, 5 MW in total.

Prototype
2025

The IEA cuts its offshore wind forecast by more than 25%: cancellations, rising costs, a policy shift in the United States.

Deployment
Today

A record of about 160 GW installed in 2025, and about 8.5% of the world's electricity. With solar, it met 99% of the rise in electricity demand; offshore wind, though, is still struggling.

Mainstream

APS News; PNNL Tethys; IEA; Ember; Our World in Data ↗

Sources

Sheet verified on October 9, 2026. No promised update frequency: the date speaks for itself.

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