Climate Change Is Slowing Down the Wind, Studies Find
Climate change is slowing winds in some areas, with possible impacts on the wind power industry, studies find.
“As the world increasingly relies on wind energy to decarbonize electricity generation, understanding the potential impacts of climate change on wind resources becomes crucial,” write the authors of a study published last month in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
They looked at about 200 climate simulations and found that northern midlatitude regions—roughly 30°N to 60°N—are expected to experience “widespread and pronounced wind stilling” during summer months, the impacts worsened by weaker efforts to get climate change under control.
In a high-emissions scenario, summertime wind speeds could decrease by a projected 10% of historical levels, leading to a possible 25% loss in potential power output.
The changes may be relatively small, with declines of less than 5% between 2021 and 2050, but they can reach up to 10% by 2071, with “the most robust and consistent changes [appearing] during the summertime in Europe and North America.” Some simulations show wind energy output declining by 30% to 40% after accounting for natural climate variability.
In the United Kingdom, when a 2021 “wind drought” led to a dramatic drop in available wind energy, the country was forced to reopen two coal plants, reports Euronews. Such changes could affect Europe’s ability to meet its climate targets, highlighting the need for energy systems with diversified renewable energy resources.
The analysis points to an “under-appreciated risk of compounding climate and energy challenges that could lead to summertime energy shortages in the densely populated midlatitudes,” the researchers write.
Another study published in iScience looked at wind speed changes for four locations in Europe that have planned wind power deployments in the next few years: Spain, Poland, the UK, and the North Sea. Periods of weaker wind speeds are expected to become more frequent and last longer throughout the year on average, except in winter, when they will become less frequent. The results indicate that power systems will need to become more flexible, like by incorporating alternate renewable energy sources and energy storage throughout the year.
Higher wind speeds will also be seen in some areas, which is important because strong wind events can force production cuts. These events are expected to become longer lasting, but occur less frequently, which “can be interpreted as good news for the wind energy sector” because there will be fewer breaks in operation, “and, hence, more generation.”
The effects varied across the regions. All Europe showed an overall decrease in annual mean wind speed of around 5%, though the greatest change was in a “Far-Future” scenario (2080–2099) in Southern Europe, where declines are projected to hit 10 to 15%.
Strong wind events might occur less frequently, but for longer durations, across northern Europe, but could increase in frequency and duration over the North Sea and offshore areas in Western Europe.
Slowing wind speeds are “not a topic that might set pulses racing, but is an issue that deserves greater scrutiny” from investors, writes Zak Bentley in Infrastructure Investor.
Bentley says current impacts from weaker winds are “filtering down to the wallets of the impacted project owners,” with results for companies like Danish wind developer Ørsted and German power utility RWE providing a “sobering outlook.” Ørsted recorded a €133.8-million (US$157.8-million) loss in 2025 “specifically due to lower wind speeds,” despite a 4% rise in offshore and onshore generation that year. And RWE’s most recent available earnings data show a decrease of €164 million (US$190 million) in earnings year-on-year in the first nine months of 2025, with “weaker wind conditions” noted as a primary driver.
“It would be an irony not appreciated by managers and investors if one of the renewable energy sources used to combat climate change was negatively impacted by it,” writes Bentley.