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American Superconductor's Power Electronic Systems Division Books $4.6 Million in New D-VAR(R) Orders for Wind FarmsWESTBOROUGH, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 12, 2006 -- American Superconductor Corporation-- - Additional Orders Received from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. Continuing AMSC's Global Expansion of Sales in the Rapidly Growing Wind Industry - Company Confirms Forecast of 50 Percent Growth in Power Electronics Systems Sales American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has received $4.6 million of new orders for D-VAR(R) systems for regulating voltage at wind farms in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These orders are expected to enable AMSC's Power Electronic Systems business unit to achieve its forecasted 50% growth in revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. These latest orders will also increase the amount of wind-generated electricity served by AMSC's power electronics solutions to more than 1.8 billion watts (1,800 megawatts), close to the company's two billion watt objective for March 31, 2007. "The performance of the Power Electronic Systems business unit has surpassed our expectations for this fiscal year," said Greg Yurek, chief executive office of American Superconductor. "Our PowerModule(TM) and D-VAR technologies are proving to be 'must-have' solutions for wind farms around the globe, enabling operators to regulate voltage to optimize the operation and output of individual wind turbines while also allowing owners to meet the increasingly stringent standards for interconnection of wind farms to power grids." "Following closely on the heels of several other contracts, these new orders are expected to enable us to grow revenues for this business unit by 50 percent year-over-year to more than $22 million," added Yurek. "We also expect this business unit to be profitable in FY2007 and going forward." According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total installed base of wind generated electricity worldwide was 59,084 megawatts as of 2005, with 11,531 megawatts having been installed in 2005. An additional 13,100 megawatts is slated for installation in 2006. GWEC estimates that the market size will more than double to 134,800 megawatts by the year 2010. "The growing global demand for renewable energy options presents a tremendous opportunity for American Superconductor's energy technology products, solutions and services," said Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president, American Superconductor. "Our D-VAR and PowerModule power electronic converter solutions are ideal for any renewable energy producer who wants to ensure that their system meets grid interconnection standards and delivers a reliable and consistent product to their customers." For more information about AMSC's wind power solutions, please visit: http://www.amsuper.com/products/applications/windEnergy/index.cfm. About American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) AMSC is the world's principal vendor of high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery, and it is a world-leading supplier of dynamic reactive power grid stabilization products. AMSC's HTS wire and power electronic converters are at the core of a broad range of new electricity transmission and distribution, transportation, medical and industrial processing applications, including dynamic reactive power grid stabilization solutions, large ship propulsion motors and generators, smart, controllable, superconductor power cables and advanced defense systems. The company's products are supported by hundreds of patents and licenses covering technologies fundamental to Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity(R). More information is available at http://www.amsuper.com. AMSC, POWERED BY AMSC and PowerModule are trademarks, and American Superconductor and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity and D-VAR are registered trademarks, of American Superconductor Corporation. Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including forecasted Power Electronic Systems sales for fiscal 2007 and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will" and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to obtain anticipated funding from corporate and government contracts, to successfully develop, manufacture and market commercial products, and to secure anticipated orders; the risk that a robust market may not develop for the Company's products; the risk that strategic alliances and other contracts may be terminated; the risk that certain technologies utilized by the Company will infringe intellectual property rights of others; the competition encountered by the Company, including several large Japanese companies. Reference is made to these and other factors discussed in the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" section of the Company's most recent quarterly or annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this release. While the Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date this press release is issued. |
