Jan 7 2010
AMSC Windtec, a wholly owned subsidiary unit of American Superconductor, has signed a follow-on contract with Dongfang Turbine for designing and developing 5 megawatt full conversion wind turbines. These wind turbines are developed for the offshore wind power market. American Superconductor is a worldwide power technologies company and Dongfang is a leading machinery company in China.
Dongfang entered the wind power market in the year 2004 and in the year 2008 more than 800 wind turbines with a 1.5 megawatt power rating were shipped by the company. This achievement enabled Dongfang to become the third largest wind turbine manufacturer in the country. The first model of 2.5 megawatt wind turbine will shortly be commissioned by Dongfang and this model has been designed through an earlier agreement with AMSC Windtec. Mass production of this wind turbine will begin in the second half of the year 2010.
Dongfang possesses exclusive rights to the 5 megawatt full conversion wind turbine designs and it also intends to supply these wind turbines to the global offshore market in the year 2012. AMSC has the right of first refusal to supply the important electrical components for this 5 megawatt wind turbine.
Wang Wei Min, Vice General Manager and Chief Engineer of Dongfang, remarked that the company has established itself as a leading manufacturer of wind turbines in the Chinese market and it also has active plans to enter the global market with advanced technologies. Min stated that the company is pleased to work with AMSC, which will enable Dongfang to include the full conversion and high-power wind turbine in its portfolio in order to meet the increasing demand for wind-generated clean energy.
Greg Yurek, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of AMSC Windtec, remarked that the introduction of the 2.5 megawatt wind turbine in the second half of the year 2010 and the 5 megawatt wind turbine to be introduced in the next two years will increase the growth of Dongfang in the year 2010 and beyond. Yurek also remarked that the company expects a great number of its existing customers to opt for the newly developed wind turbine designs.
The global wind energy market possessed a total installed capacity of 120 gigawatts at the end of the year 2008. It is expected to reach over 600 gigawatts by the year 2020, as stated by Emerging Energy Research (EER), an industry research firm. The total installed wind power capacity of China as predicted by EER will increase from 12 gigawatts at the end of the year 2008 to over 200 gigawatts by the year 2020. According to EER, the existing current installed capacity of the global offshore wind power market is expected to increase from 1.5 gigawatts to 41.5 gigawatts in the year 2020.
Source: http://www.amsc.com/