Wednesday, October 8, 2008

AMSC teams with China’s XJ Group on wind turbine development

By Mass High Tech Staff

Energy technology company American Superconductor Corp. reports it has entered into a contract to design wind turbines for XJ Group Corp. of China.

The “multi-million-dollar” contract calls for Devens-based AMSC’s wholly owned subsidiary AMSC Windtec to provide XJ Group with designs for a 2 megawatt wind turbine. In addition to an unspecified upfront fee, AMSC (Nasdaq: AMSC) says it expects to provide electrical components for the 2 MW wind turbines made by XJ Group, which is based in Xuchang in the Henan province.

XJ Group, founded in 1970, reports more than 5,000 employees worldwide and operates facilities in 30 countries, including 40 locations in China. The company expects to produce wind turbines for the Chinese market at first, but has the right to sell the  turbines — based on AMSC’s WT2000df model — worldwide.

According to Li Fusheng, president of XJ Group, AMSC Windtec and XJ Group will jointly adapt the turbine designs for specific environmental conditions in various regions of China.

While XJ Group plans to have its first prototypes installed and commissioned by the end of 2009 and expects to begin shipping wind turbines to customers in 2010.

AMSC employs approximately 382 employees and reported a $25.4 million loss on $112.4 million in revenue for its last fiscal year, which ended in March 2008.