Global Uses and Trends of Wind Turbines

Globally, the use of wind turbines as the core equipment for clean energy has expanded from traditional power generation to several emerging scenarios. Taking into account the latest developments and trends in 2025, the following are the main uses of wind turbines and related cases:

1. Large-scale power generation and the energy transition

Onshore and offshore wind projects: Wind turbines are key for countries to meet their renewable energy targets. For example, Taiwan has initiated the construction of a 920 MW offshore wind farm, Turkey plans to install 1 GW of installed wind power in 2025, and Egypt has signed a 2 GW wind power contract with Acwa Power.2 China is expected to add 105-115 GW of new wind power installations in 2025, and the new offshore wind power installations may reach 14-17 GW, driving the transformation of the global energy structure.515

Deep-sea wind power development: with policy support and technological breakthroughs, deep-sea wind power has become a new growth point. China's Shandong and Guangdong have carried out bidding and allocation for projects in state-controlled waters, Zhejiang is planning 28 GW of deep offshore wind farms, and the UK is planning to unlock 16 GW of offshore wind projects515.

2. Contributing to rural revitalization and decentralized energy

Rural wind power development: Through the “Thousands of Villages and Ten Thousand Villages Wind Harnessing Action”, China promotes wind power projects in rural areas, with an installed capacity of no more than 20 MW in each administrative village, to promote rural energy transformation and collective income growth. Currently, 14 provinces have introduced relevant policies, such as Shanxi, which has piloted a filing system to streamline the process15.

Off-grid and Distributed Applications: Small wind turbines to power microgrids in remote areas or islands. For example, China Shipbuilding & Marine Equipment's “Fushang” floating wind power platform can provide power to islands or ocean ranches14. 3.

3. Green industry and hydrogen production

Green hydrogen preparation: Wind power provides low-cost green electricity for hydrogen production from electrolyzed water. The cost of green hydrogen in northern regions such as Inner Mongolia has dropped to around RMB 21/kg. As the price of green power drops in the future, green hydrogen is expected to replace gray hydrogen in chemical and metallurgical applications15.

Industrial decarbonization: wind power combined with hydrogen-based fuels to promote emission reduction in heavy industry. China plans to support the low-carbon transformation of high-energy-consuming industries such as iron and steel and chemicals through wind-power-driven green hydrogen projects.915

4. Technology Innovation and Industry Chain Extension

Large-scale and Intelligent: In 2025, China rolled out the world's largest 26 MW offshore wind turbine (Dongfang Electric) and 18 MW floating turbine (Ming Yang Intelligent), and enhanced grid stability through grid-configuration technology.1416

Breakthrough in permanent magnet motor recycling technology: The team from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) developed the “non-magnetic assembly and overall magnetization” technology, which solves the problem of efficient recycling of decommissioned permanent magnet generators, with an energy consumption of only 1/100th of the traditional method, and helps green remanufacturing.16 5.

5. International cooperation and technology export

Equipment export and capacity layout: Chinese wind power enterprises accelerate going overseas, Sany Heavy Energy builds a manufacturing base in Kazakhstan, Gold wind Science and Technology cooperates with Vietnam to promote the policy landing. 2023 China's wind turbine export volume reaches 3.6 GW, and the overseas profit is 3-4 times of the domestic one515.

Technical standard export: for example, Vision Energy won a 58 MW order in the Philippines and demonstrated its technical consulting capability through a European floating project to promote global market recognition.215

6. Coping with decommissioning wave and environmental challenges

Upgrading old units: China is upgrading nearly 5 GW of old wind farms through a policy of “replacing small wind farms with large ones” to improve power generation efficiency, with a capacity of 8.2 GW by 2024 and further expansion by 2025.

Blade recycling: The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has pointed out the difficulties in recycling blade composites, and China is exploring a circular economy model by reducing material wastage through new technologies (e.g., modularized design of steel-hybrid towers).