AMSC Receives $70 Million Order for Wind Turbine Electrical Control Systems from China’s Shenyang Blower Works

American Superconductor Corporation, a global power technologies company, apprised that it has received an initial order worth approximately US$70 million for full wind turbine electrical control systems from China’s Shenyang Blower Works (Group) Co., Ltd. (SBW). The systems will be deployed in the 2 megawatt (MW) doubly fed induction wind turbines that were co-developed with AMSC Windtec, a wholly owned subsidiary of AMSC. This is the largest initial electrical control system order that AMSC has received to date from any wind turbine customer.

SBW plans to erect its first 2 MW wind turbine in March 2010 and will be the fourth AMSC customer to enter volume production of advanced wind turbines in China. AMSC expects to begin shipping the electrical control systems to SBW in the second half of calendar 2010 and complete shipments in the first half of 2013.

“Shenyang Blower Works prides itself on innovation and manufacturing excellence for the wind power sector,” said Su Yongqiang, Shenyang Blower Works president and chief executive officer. “Our partnership with AMSC Windtec has helped us quickly launch a new growth engine for our company. We believe SBW will play a key role in China’s build-out of renewable energy in the decades ahead.”

AMSC Windtec co-developed the 2 MW doubly fed induction wind turbine with SBW under a contract signed in late 2008. Under the terms of the agreement, SBW has the right to sell the 2 MW wind turbines globally.

AMSC’s wind turbine electrical control systems and core electrical components include the company s proprietary PowerModule power converters, pitch and yaw converters, SCADA systems and other power electronics. They enable reliable, high-performance wind turbine operation by controlling power flows, regulating voltage, monitoring system performance, controlling the pitch of wind turbine blades and the yaw of the turbines to maximize efficiency.