The latest edition of the WindEnergy trend:index indicates a modest improvement in global sentiment in the wind sector in autumn 2025, following a sharp decline in spring. The recovery remains uneven across regions, with positive developments in Asia and the Rest of World regions, continued weakening in Germany and Europe, and persistent negative sentiment in North America. A total of 387 participants took part in the survey conducted between 11 September and 11 November 2025.
The results show a shift in market focus. Companies active exclusively in onshore wind account for 38.0% of respondents, while 43.3% operate in both onshore and offshore segments. A further 14.2% concentrate solely on offshore wind.
Asia records the most positive assessments across both onshore and offshore markets. During the first two quarters of 2025, China installed more than 148 GW of wind generation capacity.
North America remains in negative territory, although sentiment has improved slightly compared with the previous survey. The outlook is linked to changes in energy and environmental policy in the USA, with limited improvement expected over the next two years.
Germany and Europe show declining sentiment, particularly in Germany, where both short-term and long-term expectations have weakened. Contributing factors include permitting constraints, slow site approvals and uncertainty in regulatory implementation. Despite this, expectations for the next 12 months and two years remain positive overall.
Regions grouped as Rest of World, including Africa, Australia and Central and South America, show improving sentiment, reflecting increased market activity and investment interest.
Grid constraints are expected to delay wind energy projects by an average of 2.6 years for onshore projects and 3.2 years for offshore projects. These figures are broadly unchanged from the previous survey.
By 2030, average turbine sizes are expected to stabilise at around 8.3 MW for onshore projects and 19.2 MW for offshore projects, indicating limited change from earlier surveys and convergence towards technically and economically viable designs.
Most respondents operate in Germany (79%) and Europe (75%), followed by Asia (29%) and North America (24%). Around one-third of participants work in business, corporate or operations management, while 47% are involved in design and project planning and 39% in operation and maintenance.
source: wind:research/WindEnergy Hamburg
