World Wind Day 2025: World breaking records, Serbia getting closer to 1 GW of wind power

Europe installed 16.4 GW of new wind power plants in 2024, bringing the total capacity to 285 GW, WindEurope announced. In the world, 117 GW of new capacity was installed in 2024, bringing the total cumulative capacity to 1,136 GW, the RES Serbia Association reports on the occasion of World Wind Day, which is celebrated today, June 15, with the aim of highlighting the importance of using wind energy in the energy transition, reducing CO₂ emissions and strengthening energy security.

Serbia is celebrating World Wind Day with 607 MW of wind power plants. Given that EPS will soon connect the 66 MW Kostolac wind farm to the grid, and that the Crni Vrh and Cibuk 2 wind farms, each with 150 MW, are expected to be on the grid by the end of the year, Serbia will approach the capacity of 1 GW of installed capacity.

Global wind energy sets new records

Globally, 2024 is marked as another record year for wind. According to data from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 117 GW of new capacity was installed worldwide in 2024, bringing the total cumulative capacity to 1,136 GW. GWEC estimates that as much as 139 GW will be built in 2025, which would represent a new historic maximum.

By 2030, under current policies, the global wind energy sector could grow by an additional 981 GW, which means an average of 164 GW of new installations per year. These figures confirm that wind energy is one of the key growing energy sources in the coming years.

Europe installs 16.4 GW in 2024, most wind farms still onshore

According to data from the leading European wind association WindEurope, of which OIE Serbia is a member, Europe installed 16.4 GW of new wind farms in 2024, of which the EU-27 countries are responsible for 12.9 GW. As much as 84% of all new capacities were built onshore, which clearly confirms that onshore wind energy remains the foundation of the development of this sector. It is expected that by 2030, 75% of new wind farms will still be onshore.

In 2024, wind power covered 19% of the total electricity demand in the European Union. Total wind power generation amounted to 475 TWh. WindEurope expects the EU to install an additional 113 GW of onshore wind power by 2030, of which the majority (65%) will be realized through auctions.

Overall, Europe now has 285 GW of installed wind power capacity, 248 GW onshore and 37 GW offshore. Within the EU-27, 231 GW has been installed, of which 210 GW onshore and 21 GW offshore. Over the next five years, an average growth of 31 GW of new capacity per year is expected.

Serbia close to 1 GW of wind power by the end of this year

After two successfully completed rounds of auctions for market premiums for renewable energy sources in 2023 and 2025, wind power plants in Serbia have shown high competitiveness. If all auction winners are built, Serbia will receive more than 1.5 GW of solar and wind power plants.

The auctions have proven to be a winning combination for all stakeholders, so the RES Serbia Association hopes that the final round of auctions for another 300 MW of wind and 100 MW of solar will be announced by the end of the year, and that the state will take into account the needs of the industry to adopt a new three-year auction plan.

Additional development of infrastructure capacities, improvement of the regulatory framework and efficient coordination of institutions are key to unlocking the full potential of wind in the coming years.

Wind power in Serbia has long-term importance for energy security, diversification of sources and reduction of dependence on fossil fuels, the statement says.

Obnovljivi izvori energije Srbije

Wind Europe

RES Serbia

WindEurope

World Wind Day June 15

wind farms