Germany recorded a strong increase in onshore wind activity in 2025, with substantial growth in both new installations and permits. Newly installed onshore wind capacity rose by more than 50 percent year on year, making 2025 the second-highest year for expansion in Germany. At the same time, newly permitted capacity reached a new record. Authorities approved 20,765 MW of onshore wind capacity during the year, a 48 percent increase compared with the previous record.
North Rhine-Westphalia accounted for almost 30 percent of the total with 5,942 MW, leading the federal state ranking for the third consecutive year. Lower Saxony followed with 5,211 MW. Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Rhineland-Palatinate each exceeded 1,000 MW of newly permitted capacity.
Despite the high number of permit decisions, approval times continued to fall. On average, permit procedures completed in 2025 took just under 17 months, a reduction of 28 percent compared with the previous year.
The strong permitting pipeline was reflected in tender rounds. All onshore wind capacity auctioned in 2025 was fully awarded by the Federal Network Agency. The awarded volume reached 14,445 MW, an increase of 30 percent year on year. The high level of permitting indicates that upcoming auctions are likely to remain oversubscribed.
In construction terms, 958 new onshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of 5,232 MW were commissioned. Gross capacity growth increased by 58 percent compared with 2024. North Rhine-Westphalia again led new installations with 1,358 MW, followed by Lower Saxony with 1,133 MW and Schleswig-Holstein with 790 MW. Repowering accounted for nearly 30 percent of newly installed capacity, seven percentage points lower than in the previous year.
Manufacturer data shows that Nordex held the largest share of gross onshore wind additions in 2025, supplying 285 turbines with a total capacity of 1,646.6 MW, equivalent to 31.5 percent of new capacity. Vestas followed closely with 277 turbines and 1,576.0 MW, representing a 30.1 percent share. Enercon installed 313 turbines totalling 1,508.3 MW, accounting for 28.8 percent. Siemens Gamesa contributed 43 turbines with 283.8 MW, while GE Vernova added 36 turbines with a combined capacity of 199.6 MW. Smaller contributions came from eno energy with three turbines totalling 18.0 MW, while other manufacturers played only a marginal role.
During 2025, 456 turbines with a combined capacity of 631 MW were decommissioned. Net expansion therefore amounted to 4,602 MW. By year end, Germany’s onshore wind fleet comprised 29,226 turbines with a total installed capacity of 68,067 MW. Around 12,600 MW no longer receives remuneration under the Renewable Energy Sources Act. The average age of the onshore wind fleet is 15.5 years, with the highest average operating age in Saxony and the lowest in Saarland.
Onshore wind turbines generated 106.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity during the year. Output declined by five percent due to a low-wind spring, but onshore wind remained Germany’s largest single source of electricity generation, accounting for 24 percent of total supply.
