American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) announced that it has received an initial order for 17 sets of full wind turbine electrical systems from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Korean Stock Exchange: HHI).
Based in Ulsan, South Korea, HHI is the world’s largest shipbuilder, a global leader in turnkey power plants and offshore projects, and a major global supplier of high voltage electrical equipment. HHI will use the electrical systems in 1.65 megawatt (MW) doubly fed induction wind turbines it will be producing under a license from AMSC’s wholly owned AMSC Windtec™ subsidiary.
In addition to the 1.65 MW wind turbine designs, HHI also has a contract with AMSC Windtec for 2-MW doubly fed induction wind turbine designs. HHI’s marketing and sales rights for both wind turbines extend to most countries around the world, including those in North America.
“Leveraging our extensive heavy industry experience as well as AMSC Windtec’s proven wind turbine designs and customer support, HHI has been able to produce its first wind turbine less than a year after licensing the design from AMSC Windtec,” said Young N. Kim, Senior Executive Vice President and COO, HHI Electro Electric Systems. “We are pleased to announce that our renewable energy business is now entering an exciting new phase with the commencement of volume wind turbine production for the global market.”
HHI installed and commissioned its first reference 1.65-MW wind turbine near its manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea in June 2009. The company expects it will soon receive Germanischer Lloyd certification, and it plans to begin shipping wind turbines to customers by the end of 2009.
“As expected, HHI has moved swiftly through the prototype phase and into volume production,” said AMSC founder and CEO Greg Yurek. “We are confident that HHI’s aggressive business plan and global reputation for manufacturing excellence will enable them to be a key player in the wind power market. With production set to begin in their new wind turbine factory in Gunsan, South Korea this fall, we look forward to receiving additional orders from HHI as they ramp up from their initial production platform.”
Founded in 1972, HHI has approximately 40,000 employees worldwide and ranks among the Financial Times Global 500, a listing of the world’s largest companies based on market capitalization. HHI is in the midst of investing approximately US$1 billion to expand its renewable energy business. In addition to producing wind turbine generators and complete wind turbines with AMSC Windtec’s assistance, the company also is scaling its production of solar cells.
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 alternative energy, providing 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.
In January, Korea Advanced Materials (KMA) announced a US$600 million polysilicon supply deal with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. for solar cell production.
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