"Leveraging our heavy industry experience as well as AMSC Windtec’s wind turbine designs and customer support, HHI has been able to produce its first wind turbine less than a year after licensing the design from AMSC Windtec," said Young N. Kim, Senior Executive VP and COO, HHI Electro Electric Systems.
HHI installed and commissioned its first reference 1.65 MW wind turbine near its manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea in June 2009. The company said it expects it will soon receive Germanischer Lloyd certification, and it plans to begin shipping wind turbines to customers by the end of 2009.
Since its founding in 1995, AMSC Windtec GmbH has become the leading engineering company involved in developing complete electrical and mechanical systems for wind turbine applications. AMSC Windtec GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Superconductor (AMSC) and is part of the Power Systems business.
AMSC Accelerates Shipments of Wind Turbine Components Under Amended Sinovel Supply Contract
— 36-Month Delivery Schedule Reduced to 28 Months to Meet Increased Demand for Sinovel’s 1.5 Megawatt Wind Turbines
— Sinovel Upgrades to PowerModule(TM) PM3000W Power Converters
— Total Contract Value Increased to More Than $470 Million
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a global energy technologies company, announced that it has amended its multi-year contract with Beijing-based Sinovel Wind Corporation Limited, China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, to enable Sinovel to meet increased demand in China for its 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines.
The original contract called for AMSC to ship core electrical components for Sinovel’s 1.5 MW wind turbines beginning in January 2009 through the end of December 2011. Under the terms of the amended contract, AMSC will increase its core electrical component shipments to Sinovel in calendar year 2009 and 2010 and will complete all shipments by the end of April 2011. The contract was also amended to include a greater number of AMSC’s wind-specific PowerModule PM3000W power converters. Optimized for wind turbine applications, the PM3000W enables Sinovel to include in its wind turbines grid-friendly features such as Low Voltage Ride Through. The initial contract included a larger fraction of PowerModule PM1000 power converters. As a result of this power converter upgrade, the overall contract value (excluding value added tax) has been increased by approximately US$20 million to more than US$470 million.
"Sinovel has ascended to the top of China’s rapidly growing wind industry and continues to increase its market share and backlog," said Greg Yurek, founder and chief executive officer of AMSC. "This acceleration of shipments to Sinovel was necessitated by recent wind turbine orders received by them for new large-scale wind farms in China. We anticipate that Sinovel will continue to grow rapidly throughout the next decade, which we expect will give rise to new orders for our core electrical components for 2011 and beyond."
AMSC’s wind turbine electrical systems and core electrical components include the company’s proprietary PowerModule power converters. They enable reliable, high-performance wind turbine operation by controlling power flows, regulating voltage, monitoring system performance and controlling the pitch of wind turbine blades to maximize efficiency.
At the end of calendar year 2008, China had an installed wind power capacity of approximately 12 gigawatts (GW). In a recently released report, the Chinese Wind Energy Association cited "conservative" and "positive" targets for China’s future wind power installations. The report’s conservative wind power capacity target for 2020 was 108 GW and its positive target for 2020 was 132 GW. According to a forecast by the Global Wind Energy Council, China will surpass the United States to become the largest growth market for wind power generating capacity in 2009.
AMSC Expands Business in India with License to Inox Wind Limited
Inox to Begin Production of AMSC Windtec(TM) 2 MW Wind Turbines in 2010. AMSC to Supply Electrical Systems for All Inox Wind Turbines
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced that its wholly owned AMSC Windtec subsidiary has licensed its proprietary 2 megawatt (MW) doubly-fed induction wind turbine design to Inox Wind Limited, part of India’s Inox Group of Companies (Inox). The license provides Inox with the right to manufacture and sell the wind turbines globally. Inox plans to begin series production of the 2 MW wind turbines in 2010.
In addition to providing licensed designs to Inox, AMSC will help the company localize the supply of key wind turbine components, establish its manufacturing line, and build and test Inox’s first prototype wind turbines. AMSC will receive an upfront license fee as well as royalty payments. AMSC also will provide the electrical systems for the 2 MW wind turbines manufactured by Inox.
Inox has a diverse line of businesses, more than 4,500 employees and nearly US$600 million in annual sales. The company owns and operates several wind farms in India.
"The Inox Group of Companies has established technology leadership positions in a range of sectors," said Deepak Asher, Director of Inox Wind Limited. "We expect to make major investments in our wind energy business in the coming years, and we look forward to forging a close, long-term relationship with AMSC as we grow our manufacturing operations."
Inox is AMSC’s second wind turbine manufacturing customer in India. In 2008, AMSC Windtec licensed a 1.65 MW wind turbine design to Ghodawat Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. Ghodawat plans to enter into commercial production of these wind turbines by the end of 2009.
"We view India as a tremendous growth opportunity for all AMSC products," said Greg Yurek, founder and CEO of AMSC. "Similar to our strategy in China, we have entered India through the wind energy market, which not only provides us with a growing stream of revenue, but also provides a concrete rationale to establish our in-country base of operations and contacts. From this base, we expect to address not only the wind market, but also the huge power grid market opportunity in India for our reactive compensation and superconductor products."
Global wind energy capacity grew by nearly 29 percent in 2008 to reach more than 120 gigawatts (GW), according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). India ranked as the world’s fifth largest wind power market at the end of 2008, with nearly 10 GW of capacity. The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association estimates that the potential for wind development in India is approximately 65 to 70 GW.
To learn more about AMSC’s product offerings for the wind industry, please visit
http://www.amsc.com/products/applications/windEnergy/index.html.
AMSC and U.S. Department of Energy Agree to Collaborate on 10 Megawatt-Class Superconductor Wind Turbines
Project Focuses on Significantly Increasing Wind Turbine Power Capacity to Reduce Cost of Wind-Generated Electricity AMSC Windtec Design Expertise and AMSC’s Superconductor Motor Technology Core to New Designs
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) to validate the economics of a full 10 megawatt (MW) class superconductor wind turbine. AMSC is separately developing full 10 MW-class wind turbine component and system designs. A CRADA allows the Federal government and industry partners to optimize their resources, share technical expertise in a protected environment and speed the commercialization of technologies.
Under the 12-month program, AMSC Windtec™, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMSC, will analyze the cost of a full 10 MW-class superconductor wind turbine, which will include a direct drive superconductor generator and all other components, including the blades, hub, power electronics, nacelle, tower and controls. The NWTC will then benchmark and evaluate the wind turbine’s economic impact, both in terms of its initial cost and its overall cost of energy.
“The Department of Energy and its National Renewable Energy Lab recognize that wind power will represent a significant fraction of our power production in the years to come,” said NREL Director Dan Arvizu. “High temperature superconductors hold promise for helping lower the overall cost of wind energy. We are pleased to be teaming with AMSC to move this technology forward.”
Direct drive wind generator systems utilizing high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire instead of copper wire for the generator’s rotor are expected to be much smaller, lighter, more efficient and more reliable than conventional generators and gearboxes. AMSC estimates that its superconductor technology will enable a 10 MW-class generator system that would weigh approximately 120 metric tons, compared with approximately 300 metric tons for conventional direct drive generators with this power rating. In addition, direct drive generators eliminate the need for massive gearboxes, the component with the highest maintenance costs in conventional wind turbines. This will open up the opportunity for the development of wind farms in more areas on land and offshore.
The superconductor generators that are to be utilized for 10 MW-class superconductor wind turbines are based on proven technology AMSC has developed for superconductor ship propulsion motors and generators under contracts with the U.S. Navy. AMSC recently announced that a 36.5 MW superconductor ship propulsion motor it designed and manufactured for the Navy was successfully operated at full power by the Navy and is ready for deployment.
Concurrent with the CRADA, AMSC and TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company (TWMC) have been working on a project since October 2007 to develop HTS and related technologies for 10 megawatt-class direct drive wind generators under an award from the National Institute of Science and Technology’s Advanced Technology Program (ATP). The CRADA and ATP programs are intended to serve as a prelude to follow-on programs aimed at building and testing a full-scale prototype superconductor wind turbine, prior to commercialization.
Senior Vice President and AMSC Superconductors General Manager Dan McGahn said, “It is important for our economy to embrace new clean technologies that will increase our energy independence and strengthen our electricity infrastructure. Superconductors are today proving their tremendous power density and efficiency advantages to electric utilities and large power users. This program brings those same benefits to power generation and the rapidly growing wind power market.”
Wind turbine power ratings have been increasing steadily while the price per megawatt has declined, enabling wind power to achieve economic parity with conventional generation sources in prime wind locations. Due to the limitations of conventional technologies, however, the largest wind turbine ratings top out at approximately 6 MW due in part to practical limitations on the physical size and weight of the generators that must be transported over roads and supported on towers hundreds of feet in the air.
“HTS is one of the ‘disruptive technologies’ needed to break through wind power’s capacity barrier and significantly reduce its cost of energy,” McGahn said. “We have formed strong ties with wind turbine manufacturers around the world, including TECO in Taiwan, Sinovel Wind in China and Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea. Based on these relationships, AMSC’s leadership in superconductor technology, its experience with HTS rotating machines and AMSC Windtec’s proven commercial wind turbine design capabilities, we are uniquely equipped to commercialize this breakthrough technology.”
According to industry research firm Emerging Energy Research, approximately $27 billion was spent on wind turbines in 2007. That figure is expected to double to over $55 billion annually by 2015.
About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure – from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in alternative energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information is available at www.amsc.com.
American Superconductor and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, AMSC, Powered by AMSC, D-VAR, dSVC, PowerModule, PQ-IVR, Secure Super Grids, Windtec and SuperGEAR are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. The Windtec logo and design is a registered European Union Community Trademark.
