How much of the world's electricity does wind power supply?
Wind power supplied about 2,700 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, which was over 8% of world electricity. Wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015, when its share was 3.5%.
Questions about Wind power
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why is wind power proportional to the cube of wind speed?
Wind power is proportional to the third power of the wind speed, so the available power increases eightfold when the wind speed doubles. Increasing the wind speed by a factor of 2.1544 multiplies the power by ten.
Who built the first wind turbine used to generate electricity?
Professor James Blyth of Anderson's College in Glasgow built the first electricity-generating wind turbine in Scotland in July 1887. His 10-metre cloth-sailed machine, installed at his cottage in Marykirk, made it the first house in the world supplied with electric power by wind.
What is the largest offshore wind farm in the world?
As of November 2021, the Hornsea Wind Farm in the United Kingdom was the largest offshore wind farm in the world, rated at 1,218 megawatts. Offshore installations make up about 10% of new wind capacity.
How does wind power deal with its variability?
Because wind is variable, it needs energy storage or other dispatchable sources to maintain a reliable supply. Hydroelectricity complements it well by holding back water when wind is strong and ramping up when wind drops, and solar power tends to fill seasonal and daily gaps.
Is wind power cheaper than coal or gas?
Onshore wind is one of the lowest-cost electricity sources per unit of energy and is often cheaper than new coal or gas plants. A 2021 Lazard study estimated new wind-generated electricity at 26 to 50 dollars per megawatt-hour, compared to new gas power at 45 to 74 dollars per megawatt-hour.