AMSC lands new $445M turbine power deal from China's Sinovel
By Rodney H. Brown
Long-time Chinese partner Sinovel Wind Group Co. Ltd. has awarded American Superconductor Corp. a nearly three-year contract for core electrical equipment for wind turbines worth approximately $445 million. In addition to a current multi-year contract that runs through early 2011, AMSC has won more than $1 billion in orders Sinovel, officials said.
Under terms of the deal. Devens-based AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC) will sell Sinovel equipment that includes the company’s proprietary PowerModule PM3000W power converter, which massages the surging and peaking power output from wind turbines into power that can be put into the electrical grid. AMSC says it will start delivering equipment under the order in early 2011.
In March, Sinovel awarded AMSC a contract for an unspecified amount for electrical control systems to be used with Sinovel’s planned 5-megawatt wind turbines. Those prototype turbines were based on designs from AMSC subsidiary Windtec.
Sinovel is China’s largest turbine manufacturer and aims to become the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturer within five years, according to AMSC officials. It is not AMSC’s only Chinese wind turbine customer, however. In February, AMSC won a $70 million initial order from China’s Shenyang Blower Works (Group) Co. Ltd. for full wind turbine electrical control systems, to be used in wind turbines that were co-developed with Windtec.
American Superconductor made a $5.2 million profit on $807 million in revenue for the last quarter of 2009. That compared to a $7 million loss in the same quarter of 2008, on revenue of $41.3 million
