ENGIE, a global leader in onshore and offshore wind energy

A rapidly growing market

Wind energy has the advantage of being inexhaustible, locally available and low-carbon. Fast construction is another key advantage for the sector, with construction times ranging from 12 to 24 months for onshore wind farms. Costs are also highly competitive. According to the International Energy Agency, onshore wind remained the most affordable source of electricity generation for new capacity worldwide in 2024, with an average levelized cost of electricity of $0.034 per kWh, followed by solar photovoltaics and hydropower.

At the end of 2024, global installed wind capacity reached around 1,136 GW, including 520 GW in China and 154 GW in the United States, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). The vast majority corresponds to onshore wind. Along with hydropower and solar energy, it is one of the most mature and widely deployed renewable technologies worldwide.

No fewer than 55 countries installed wind turbines in 2024, a record year for new installations with 117 GW added (including 109 GW onshore and 8 GW offshore). The trend continues to accelerate. In the first half of 2025, new installations increased by 64% compared with the same period in 2024, rising from 44.1 GW to 72.2 GW.

Offshore wind turbines benefit from stronger and more consistent winds, producing more electricity than onshore installations. Electricity is collected offshore and transmitted onshore via a substation and submarine cables.

Between 2010 and 2024, offshore wind installation costs decreased by 48%, resulting in a 62% reduction in the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) over the same period, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Deployed at large scale since the beginning of the 21st century, the first generations of wind turbines are now reaching the end of their operational life. A significant share of these installations will gradually be dismantled or replaced by next-generation wind farms, a process known as repowering. Most wind turbine components are almost entirely recyclable.

Wind energy production, like solar generation, varies throughout the day depending on weather conditions. To manage these fluctuations, grid operators rely on flexibility solutions, a key pillar of ENGIE’s strategy.

Environmental impacts

Protecting biodiversity is part of ENGIE’s environmental and societal responsibility, and the Group adopts a responsible approach to its wind projects. ENGIE created the Sustainable Energy Transition (TED) label with Bureau Veritas, which certifies its onshore wind farms by verifying the rigorous implementation of our commitments from design to decommissioning. Since 2022, our objective has been to make this label a benchmark across all countries where we operate in onshore wind and solar energy. To date, 11 countries representing nearly 85% of our installed capacity worldwide have been audited and certified: South Africa, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Spain, United States / Canada, France, India, Italy and Mexico.

For offshore wind farms, ENGIE conducts seabed studies and monitoring, aerial monitoring and GPS tracking to manage environmental risks. We have also signed the UN Sustainable Ocean Principles Charter, which commits economic stakeholders to protecting seas and oceans. We work closely with scientific partners on our offshore wind projects. ENGIE also applies the “avoid, reduce, compensate” principle, which is central to our commitments under Act4Nature, a biodiversity initiative led by French multinational companies since 2018. In practice, we assess the potential impacts of our activities in order to avoid them where possible, reduce them where necessary and compensate for any residual impacts.