China was responsible for nearly 70% of wind generation growth in 2021, followed by the United States at 14% and Brazil at 7%. The European Union, despite near-record capacity growth in 2020 and 2021, saw wind power generation fall by 3% in 2021 due to unusually long periods of weak wind conditions. Globally, record generation growth was possible thanks to a 90% increase in capacity growth in 2020, which reached 113 GW, driven by political deadlines in China and the United States. In 2021, however, wind additions fell by a third in China and a quarter in the United States, partially offset by faster growth in other parts of the world, resulting in overall growth in capacity reaching 94 GW.
Alignment with the net zero scenario wind generation level of around 7,900 TWh in 2030 requires an average expansion of around 18% per year over the 2022-2030 period. After the exceptionally high capacity additions of 2020-2021, the deployment is expected to stabilize in the coming years, underscoring the need for considerable effort to get on the trajectory of the net zero scenario.