Global wind power: mid-year review 2026

Cost inflation has impacted wind development for several years, worsened by consecutive geopolitical shocks. Despite cost pressures and political uncertainty continuing to weigh on confidence across global markets, signals of outlook stabilisation have emerged in H1 2026. Topics in this report include: - Falling onshore wind tender prices in Europe are driving the first decline in Western turbine prices since 2020 and accelerating next-generation platform development - Offshore wind tenders are restoring developer confidence, but risk transfer from developers to governments must deliver competitive outcomes - China's 15th Five-Year Plan is driving a near-term buildout peak, with returns increasingly dependent on power trading and storage dispatch - A growing backlog of ageing turbines is building in mature markets as repowering accelerates but cannot yet offset the rate at which capacity is reaching end of design life.