Sep 29 2009
American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a global energy technologies company, today announced that it and Beijing-based Sinovel Wind Corporation Limited (Sinovel) have signed a new contract worth more than $100 million (excluding value added tax) for core electrical components to be utilized in Sinovel's 3 megawatt (MW) wind turbines, known as the SL3000. AMSC expects to begin shipping sets of core components under the new contract in March 2010 and to complete all shipments by the end of calendar year 2011. Sinovel is China's largest wind turbine manufacturer and expects to be the world's fifth largest wind turbine manufacturer by the end of 2009.
"Over the course of the past four years, Sinovel has transformed from start-up mode into China's largest wind turbine manufacturer," said Greg Yurek, founder and chief executive officer of AMSC. "This success was achieved through the production of thousands of 1.5 MW wind turbines. Sinovel is now exhibiting its technology leadership by entering volume production of its SL3000 wind turbines. We at AMSC are proud to be supporting Sinovel's 1.5 MW and 3 MW platforms and look forward to the launch of the company's 5 MW wind turbines in the not-too-distant future."
With a 300-foot rotor diameter and tower height, Sinovel's SL3000 is China's most powerful domestically produced wind turbine. Sinovel has already erected several 3 MW turbines off the coast of Shanghai for the Shanghai Donghai Bridge Wind Farm, China's first off-shore wind farm.
This is the second order AMSC has received from Sinovel for 3 MW core electrical components and follows an $18 million contract that was signed in early 2008. AMSC's core electrical components include the company's proprietary PowerModule PM3000W power converter and 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 12,000 MW (12 gigawatts). In its June 2009 report, industry research firm Emerging Energy Research projected that China's wind power installed base would exceed 200,000 MW (200 GW) by 2020.