Sep 13 2006
American Superconductor Corporation, a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has received $4.6 million of new orders for D-VAR(R) systems for regulating voltage at wind farms in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These orders are expected to enable AMSC's Power Electronic Systems business unit to achieve its forecasted 50% growth in revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. These latest orders will also increase the amount of wind-generated electricity served by AMSC's power electronics solutions to more than 1.8 billion watts (1,800 megawatts), close to the company's two billion watt objective for March 31, 2007.
"The performance of the Power Electronic Systems business unit has surpassed our expectations for this fiscal year," said Greg Yurek, chief executive office of American Superconductor. "Our PowerModule(TM) and D-VAR technologies are proving to be 'must-have' solutions for wind farms around the globe, enabling operators to regulate voltage to optimize the operation and output of individual wind turbines while also allowing owners to meet the increasingly stringent standards for interconnection of wind farms to power grids."
"Following closely on the heels of several other contracts, these new orders are expected to enable us to grow revenues for this business unit by 50 percent year-over-year to more than $22 million," added Yurek. "We also expect this business unit to be profitable in FY2007 and going forward."
According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total installed base of wind generated electricity worldwide was 59,084 megawatts as of 2005, with 11,531 megawatts having been installed in 2005. An additional 13,100 megawatts is slated for installation in 2006. GWEC estimates that the market size will more than double to 134,800 megawatts by the year 2010.
"The growing global demand for renewable energy options presents a tremendous opportunity for American Superconductor's energy technology products, solutions and services," said Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president, American Superconductor. "Our D-VAR and PowerModule power electronic converter solutions are ideal for any renewable energy producer who wants to ensure that their system meets grid interconnection standards and delivers a reliable and consistent product to their customers."