Sept 16 (Reuters) - Global onshore wind turbine orders

hit 91.2 gigawatts (GWs) in the first half of the year, a 23%

year-on-year rise, due to higher demand in the second quarter

from China's northern region, Wood Mackenzie said in a report on

Monday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

China's wind turbine production capacity is by far the

biggest globally compared to Europe and the United States.

Western original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are struggling to

keep pace, challenged by China's competitive advantages in

pricing and availability.

Global order intake for wind turbines exceeded 66 GW in the

second quarter of the year, owing to Chinese demand, per the

Wood Mackenzie report.

CONTEXT

Earlier this year, top wind power companies in the West such

as Siemens Energy highlighted an industry struggling

with project delays, equipment problems and inflation.

Western OEMs struggled due to intense competition over

modest demand and contributed just 13% of global order intake in

the first half of the year, the report said.

Orders outside of China fell by 16%, dropping 42%

year-over-year in the U.S. and Europe.

Global onshore order activity has picked up in H1 but the

offshore sector has struggled with order intake, decreasing

almost 38% compared to the same period a year ago.

KEY QUOTE

"Chinese OEMs continue to break records for order intake on

activity both domestically and aboard," said Luke Lewandowski,

vice president, global renewables research at Wood Mackenzie.

Meanwhile, the offshore market faced "challenging economics

(which) continue to delay conversion into firm orders," he

added.