Wind Energy ETFs
The wind industry commissioned 165 GW in 2025, its largest year on record and 40% up on 2024, bringing global capacity to 1,299 GW at the end of 2025 (GWEC Global Wind Report 2026, April 2026). In 2025, China took 73% of new onshore capacity, and the top five markets together took 86% of all wind capacity additions.
This page covers the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN), a US-listed fund dedicated to wind. Broader clean energy and renewable power funds also hold wind businesses alongside other technologies. Readers who want to compare individual companies can use the Wind Energy Stocks list.
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Fund directory
Ranked by assets under management
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First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF
First TrustFee: 0.60% · Equity |
FAN | $193M | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Trust Global Wind Energy ETFThe First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN) launched in June 2008 and tracks the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index. The index sorts eligible companies into two groups. Pure plays, which draw at least 50% of revenue or generating assets from wind, take 60% of the weight; diversified companies, which are engaged in wind inside a larger business, take the other 40%. Caps are applied at each semi-annual reconstitution: the five largest pure plays may not exceed 8% each, the remaining pure plays 4% each, and no diversified company may exceed 2%. Constituents need a $100 million market capitalization, $500,000 of three-month average daily trading volume and a 25% free float. FAN’s index combines wind-focused businesses with companies whose wind activities sit within larger operations. The fund’s country, sector and company weights change with prices and portfolio adjustments; the holdings table shows the positions from the dated snapshot available to GSR. Top 5 Holdings
Fund Details
AUM$193M
Expense Ratio0.60%
Inception6/16/2008
ExchangeNYSE Arca
StructureETF
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Key Terms
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Wind turbines installed on land. Onshore projects generally have lower capital costs per megawatt and shorter construction periods than offshore projects. Turbine size, energy yield and development schedules vary with the site, equipment and permitting requirements.
Wind turbines installed at sea. Fixed-bottom projects use monopile or jacket foundations; floating projects use anchored semi-submersible, spar or tension-leg platforms where water depth or seabed conditions make fixed foundations impractical. Offshore sites can achieve higher capacity factors than onshore sites, but require ports, subsea cables and specialized installation vessels.
Electricity generated during a period divided by the electricity that could have been generated at full capacity over that period. Comparisons require a consistent capacity definition and period. Fleet averages from a statistical agency are not the same as the design targets quoted for new projects.
An agreement to buy electricity or related energy products on specified terms. Pricing, delivery obligations, duration and termination rights vary. A physical PPA involves power delivery; a virtual PPA settles a price difference financially. Contracted revenue can support project financing, subject to buyer credit and other project risks.
The annual fee an ETF charges to cover stated operating costs such as management and administration, expressed as a percentage of assets. Depending on the source it may be quoted gross or net of contractual fee waivers. It does not capture every cost of owning a fund: brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, any premium or discount to NAV, and — for futures funds — roll effects are all separate. All else equal, a lower expense ratio means less annual fee drag on returns.
The net value of the assets an ETF holds. AUM indicates fund scale, but it does not by itself determine liquidity or trading costs; bid-ask spreads, trading volume, market makers and the liquidity of underlying holdings also matter. AUM changes with market prices and fund inflows or outflows.
Investor FAQ
This list covers the First Trust Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN), a US-listed ETF dedicated to wind; its assets and expense ratio are shown in the table above. The Global X Wind Energy ETF (WNDY) closed in 2025: Global X announced the closure on July 31, 2025, the fund stopped trading on Nasdaq on August 22, 2025 and liquidated at the end of that month. Broader clean energy and renewable power ETFs can also hold wind companies alongside other technologies.
FAN follows a dedicated wind-energy index. Broader clean energy ETFs can hold wind companies alongside solar, storage, grid and other businesses, so their exposures differ from FAN’s. Fees, liquidity, geographic exposure, concentration and index construction affect how the funds compare. The former Global X Wind Energy ETF (WNDY) stopped trading on Nasdaq in August 2025.
FAN tracks the ISE Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index, which holds companies worldwide that are active in the wind energy industry. The index classes a company as a pure play when at least 50% of its revenue or generating assets come from wind, and as diversified when wind sits inside a larger business; pure plays take 60% of the index weight and diversified companies the other 40%. The index caps diversified constituents at 2% each when it rebalances; the fund’s market weights can move between rebalances. Its holdings include wind-focused businesses and companies with broader operations.
FAN’s expense ratio is shown in the table above. First Trust has contractually capped the fee at that level through at least 31 January 2027, so the net figure investors pay sits below the fund’s gross expense ratio until then. Broader clean energy and renewable power funds spread exposure across several technologies, so fee comparisons also need to account for their different holdings. Fee is also not the whole cost of ownership: bid-ask spreads and any premium or discount to NAV apply on top.
No. Turbine manufacturers are one part of the portfolio. FAN also holds the developers and operators that build and run wind farms (Ørsted, EDP Renováveis), independent power producers (Northland Power, Boralex), and component and service suppliers spanning bearings, castings, carbon fiber, cable and offshore survey work (SKF, Timken, Toray, Prysmian, Fugro). A turbine maker’s earnings track order intake and input costs. A generator’s track power prices and the cost of project debt.
Global X’s board resolved on 31 July 2025 to liquidate the fund, citing assets that had stayed small with no expectation of sufficient growth. WNDY’s last reported net assets were $1.52 million at 31 May 2025, down from $2.15 million six months earlier (Form N-PORT). It stopped trading on Nasdaq on 22 August 2025 and liquidated on or around 29 August 2025. The US-listed fund was distinct from the Global X Wind Energy UCITS ETF, also ticker WNDY, in Europe.