Monday, January 3, 2005

Energy

American Superconductor charges up another wind farm

Westborough-based American Superconductor Corp. has sold a D-VAR voltage regulation system to the prime contractor for a Nebraska-based wind farm for an undisclosed amount.

The Ainsworth Wind Turbine Project will be located south of Ainsworth, Neb., and is owned by Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). The project will comprise 36 Vestas V82 wind turbines with an installed capacity of 60-megawatts and will be constructed on behalf of NPPD by RES America Construction Inc. in Austin, Texas.

The D-VAR system, slated to be commissioned this summer, constantly monitors voltage where the wind turbines connect to the transmission grid. Instead of allowing voltage to vary as the wind fluctuates, the D-VAR system and its ancillary equipment dynamically regulate the voltage at the point of connection to the transmission grid to a desired level.

According to AMSC, this is the sixth wind farm in North America and the seventh worldwide to incorporate the company's superconductor-based voltage control technologies. These projects bring the total wind-generated electric power served by AMSC's D-VAR systems to more than 550MW.

American Superconductor stock began the day trading at $13, down 27 cents from its close yesterday.