Europe on track for record wind year – imminent policy choices will make or break this momentum

Europe is on track for a record wind year. It installed 8.8 GW of new wind power capacity in the first half of 2026, a 30% increase on the first half of 2025. That’s good news for Europe’s energy security and competitiveness. But structural problems persist. Policy choices on permitting, grids, and electrification will determine whether the wind ramp-up will continue.

With 8.8 GW of new capacity installed in the first half of 2026, Europe’s wind build-out is on track for a record year. These turbines can generate enough electricity to power around 7 million European households and replace fossil fuel imports equivalent to 25 LNG tankers a year.

Thanks to high installation activity over the summer, WindEurope now expects Europe to install 24 GW of new capacity by the end of 2026. The wind industry is at the start of an anticipated ramp-up phase towards consistently installing 30 GW a year in the 2030s.

Installations over the first 6 months of 2026 were driven by Germany, which accounted for 3.4 GW. But installations were also significantly up in Denmark, Poland, Portugal and France. Remarkably, Ukraine installed more than 400 MW despite the ongoing war.

According to WindEurope’s Autumn Report Europe invested €9bn in new wind farms in the first semester which will be built in the years to come. National Governments collectively awarded more than 17 GW of wind capacity in auctions in the first half of 2026 – and are set to tender an additional 26 GW in the second half of the year. Europe has never auctioned more new wind in a single year.

WindEurope now expects Europe to reach a total installed capacity of 436 GW by 2030. 342 GW of this would be in the EU, representing 27% of EU electricity demand by 2030.

Structural problems persist, however, with permitting chief among them. Germany has shown what’s possible when governments implement the excellent EU permitting rules. Germany permitted more than 9 GW of new onshore wind in the first 6 months of 2026, on track for another record year. But Germany is an outlier. Permitting volumes were down in Spain, France, the UK, Italy and Ireland.

“2026 may well be a record wind year. But we can’t take that momentum for granted. Just when we need wind the most to boost Europe’s economic resilience, permitting volumes are down in key markets. Government decisions on permitting, auctions, grids and electrification in the coming months will make or break this momentum”, says Tinne Van der Straeten, CEO of WindEurope.

The EU and national Governments can boost Europe’s energy resilience and give a concrete response to the climate emergency by making 5 key choices in the coming months:

1. Agree EU permitting rules once and for all and implement them. So quality projects can get grid connected rather than drown in paperwork.
2. Close the EU grids package, plan for a highly electrified net-zero energy system, unlock grid investments and clear up grid connection queues.
3. Channel ETS revenues towards industry electrification through the Innovation Fund and Industrial Decarbonisation Bank. With a focus on ready-to-electrify sectors.
4. Set a binding renewable energy target for 2040 so national Governments can plan volumes and supply chains gear up to deliver them.
5. Stop experimenting with auction design. Two-sided Contracts for Difference are the best deal for society. They unlock investments at scale by lowering the cost of capital.

Read the report