US wind turbine orders reached 2.8 GW in Q2 before the July tax-credit cutoff
Serguey Asael Shinder1 min readUS wind turbine orders reached 2.8 GW in the second quarter of 2026 as developers rushed to start construction before the 4 July tax-credit deadlines, according to a Wood Mackenzie report dated 26 October and covered by Utility Dive. The US installed about 5 GW of onshore wind in the quarter, most of it in the 3.65 GW SunZia project in New Mexico, the largest in the country to date.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act moved forward the deadlines for wind and solar projects to keep the 45Y production and 48E investment tax credits. Projects that started construction by 4 July have until 31 December 2030 to be placed in service; projects that missed it must be in service by 31 December 2027.
Wood Mackenzie expects the industry to stay on course for 39 GW of new onshore capacity by 2030 and says more than half of the 2026–2028 pipeline is already operating or under construction. Its repowering forecast fell by 1 GW quarter on quarter because fewer repower equipment orders came in than expected. Offshore wind is limited to 5 GW delivering in the next two years, which the firm attributes to unfavourable policy, including the pause on new federal offshore lease sales.
What it means
The orders figure is a deadline effect, not a demand signal: developers bought turbines to lock in eligibility. The real test of the 39 GW outlook is the 2027–2030 build window, when projects that qualified must actually be finished. For turbine makers, an order bulge ahead of a cutoff usually means a thinner order book afterwards.