The numbers speak for themselves: Onshore beats offshore. According to the Global Wind Report, 165 gigawatts of new wind energy generation capacity were added world-wide last year, with 155.3 gigawatts installed on land and 9.3 gigawatts offshore. What drives this development is mainly economic considerations: Onshore wind is the second cheapest power source globally, behind large photovoltaic plants. Construction, operation and maintenance are significantly more cost-efficient for onshore wind turbines than for offshore, according to a study published by Fraunhofer ISE.
“Onshore wind energy is the foundation of the global energy transition,” says Andreas Arnheim, Director of WindEnergy Hamburg. At the world’s leading wind industry fair from 22 to 25 September, more than 1,600 exhibitors will present their innovations. While numerous technologies can be applied to both, offshore and onshore wind, about 60 per cent of exhibitors hail from the onshore segment.
Between cost pressures and booming demand: the industry is growing
The growth journey continues: “Although wind power continues to face supply chain issues, rising costs and permitting delays today, global capacity is still expected to nearly double to over 2,000 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 as both advanced and developing economies tackle these barriers,” writes the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a recent study. The IEA’s forecast: “Around 85 per cent of capacity additions for wind are set to be onshore.”
Clean energy, independent supply
It is not only countries like China that consider renewable energy to be key to future independence from energy imports, especially fossil fuels. “The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting steep increase in oil and gas prices have once more impressed on all policy-makers the urgent need to boost resilience,” says Claus Ulrich Selbach, Vice President Exhibitions at Hamburg Messe und Congress. Apart from climate protection, energy sovereignty has become one of the strongest arguments in support of wind energy. China’s quantitative industry leadership is mainly attributable to its strong domestic market. European suppliers have the experience and technological expertise to keep up but need a supportive business environment. Dr. Dennis Rendschmidt, Managing Director at Europe’s leading machinery and equipment engineering association VDMA Power Systems, emphasises: “To strengthen the wind industry’s supply chains and build an energy system that can withstand crises, it is imperative to keep the European value chain alive and strengthen it. We depend on it to secure our know-how and make ourselves technologically and politically more resilient.” José Luis Blanco, CEO of Nordex Group, takes a similar approach: “The European wind industry needs scale to remain relevant globally – and the value wind technology generates for our societies merits recognition.” For the second year running, Blanco’s company was market leader in the German onshore segment in 2025, contributing a 31.5 per cent share to all units newly connected to the grid. Its manufacturing ecosystem includes factories in Germany, Spain, Brazil, India and the USA. The product range focuses on onshore wind turbines in the 4-to-7+ megawatt classes designed for the requirements of countries with limited space for expansion as well as regions with limited grid capacity.
Repowering boosts output
Limitations such as these are putting the spotlight on repowering – replacing ageing wind turbines with new, significantly more powerful ones. Boosting output by increasing rotor diameters and tapping wind flows at greater height makes sense: According to estimates by the market research firm Mordor Intelligence, 37 per cent of the onshore capacity increase in Germany were achieved by replacing first-generation 2 megawatt wind turbines with 6 megawatt units as early as 2024. Another successful company in this market segment is WindEnergy Hamburg exhibitor Enercon, supplier of the new turbine model E-175 EP5 E2. With a 7 megawatt output rating and a 175 metre rotor diameter, Enercon’s flagship model is currently one of the most powerful onshore wind turbines. “It is the leading unit type among new approvals in Germany, and a growing number of international customers believe it is a key factor for maximising output,” reports CEO Udo Bauer. The company has received orders for projects in Turkey, Canada, The Netherlands, Austria, Lithuania and Portugal. Based in East Frisia, it owes part of its success to its dynamic performance upgrades which ensure turbines continue to operate optimally throughout their lifetime.
Focus on the future of wind energy
Larger, better, more efficient: The wind farm developer and operator wpd is steadily expanding the range of its activities, not only in the northern German domestic market but also internationally, from Europe and Asia to the Americas. Its current onshore project pipeline comprises over 38,000 megawatts of installed power. In Germany alone, projects totalling nearly one gigawatt (GW) are currently under construction, and in recent public tender offers, the company was able to secure additional contracts. “At the same time, however, we are facing an extremely challenging market environment marked by falling prices and rising costs. The federal government’s so-called Grid Package along with the overhaul of the Renewable Energies Act risk undesirable developments that could slam the brakes on the expansion of wind energy,” warns CEO Dr. Hartmut Brösamle.
Highlighting smart grids, digitalisation, integration of energy storage technologies and much more, WindEnergy Hamburg 2026 will provide experts, policy-makers, administrators and scientists with opportunities to discuss the full breadth of relevant topics with industry representatives while enabling them to study suitable innovative products and services in the exhibition halls. “Networking is the key to a continued successful development of wind energy, and our global flagship fair provides an ideal platform for it,” says Andreas Arnheim. “All that in the interest of a secure, future-ready energy supply and effective climate protection world-wide.”
