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• New $10M Order Follows Close on the Heels of November 2009 Core Component Contract
• Shipments to be Completed in Calendar Year 2010

American Superconductor Corporation, a global power technologies company, announced recently that it has received an additional follow-on order for $10M worth of wind turbine core electrical components from China's CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Co., Ltd. (CSR-ZELRI). Based in the Hunan province of China, CSR-ZELRI is a subsidiary of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. (CSR), China's largest railway equipment and associated power systems manufacturer. CSR-ZELRI will use the components in the 1.65 megawatt (MW) wind turbines designed by AMSC's wholly owned AMSC Windtec subsidiary. AMSC expects to ship all of the core components to CSR-ZELRI by the end of calendar year 2010.

CSR-ZELRI installed its first prototype wind turbine in Jianghua, located in China's Hunan Province in November 2007, approximately 10 months after licensing AMSC Windtec's 1.65 MW doubly-fed induction wind turbine design. The company entered series production of the turbines in mid-2008. This latest core component order is the fifth that AMSC has received from CSR-ZELRI and follows close on the heels of a $10M order booked in November 2009.

"CSR-ZELRI has done an excellent job of rapidly scaling its wind turbine manufacturing operation to capitalize on the strong growth of China's wind industry," said Dan McGahn, president and chief operating officer of AMSC. "This success has led to a quick succession of core component orders, each larger than the last. With five Chinese wind turbine manufacturers who have adopted AMSC Windtec designs either in production or set to enter production soon, 2010 is shaping up to be another record year for AMSC."

CSR-ZELRI licensed AMSC Windtec's proprietary model WT1650 wind turbine designs under a contract signed in December 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, CSR-ZELRI has the rights to manufacture, use and sell the 1.65 MW wind energy system in China. Windtec also provided training for CSR-ZELRI's staff as well as project management services for the company's first two prototype units. Under the terms of the original license agreement, AMSC also received the right to provide CSR-ZELRI with core electrical components for all of its 1.65 MW wind turbines.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, China's wind power market experienced another record year of growth in 2009, more than doubling its wind generating capacity from 12.1 gigawatts (GW) to 25.1 GW. Industry research firm Emerging Energy Research (EER) expects China's total installed capacity to exceed 200 GW by 2020.

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.

About CSR-ZELRI
Established in 1959, CSR-ZELRI is a subsidiary of China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp (CSR), China's largest railway equipment manufacturer and a leader in the power sector. The company has more than 8,000 staff members and had RMB 7.3 billion capital assets. The company's annual sales volume exceeds RMB 5 billion worldwide. More information is available at http://www.teg.cn/en/jtnb_67_579_show.aspx.

About American Superconductor
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure – from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in renewable energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC's technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. For more information, visit: www.amsc.com.

SOURCE: American Superconductor Corporation