“These most recent orders demonstrate AMSC Windtec’s unique ability to get new wind turbine manufacturers up and running quickly in a dynamic marketplace,” said Greg Yurek, founder and chief executive officer of AMSC. “With ZELRI placing repeat orders for electrical systems and AAER making its first purchases, our customers are signaling the commencement of their production ramp ups to meet the growing demand for zero-emission wind turbines worldwide.”
Located in Zhuzhou City in the Hunan province of China, ZELRI purchased a license in January 2007 for AMSC WindtecÂ’s 1.65 megawatt (MW) WT1650 wind turbine design. Under the license agreement, ZELRI agreed to pay AMSC a multi-million-dollar upfront fee as well as a royalty payment for each WT1650 system installed. AMSC also has a right of first refusal to provide the electrical systems for each WT1650 manufactured by ZELRI.
AMSC received its initial order from ZELRI for electrical systems for 10 wind turbines in September 2007. ZELRI has now placed an order for electrical systems for 20 additional wind turbines. ZELRI recently began testing a prototype WT1650 wind turbine at a location south of Changsha, China. The wind turbine successfully passed trial operation after being connected to the grid in November 2007, just 10 months after ZELRI engaged AMSC Windtec.
ZELRI expects to complete prototype testing and begin shipping wind turbines to customers in mid 2008. The company expects to manufacture more than 100 WT1650 wind turbines in 2009.
Located in Quebec, AAER Inc. is CanadaÂ’s first wind turbine manufacturer. The company recently ordered 10 electrical systems from AMSC for its first 1.5 MW wind turbines. AAER Inc. plans to begin manufacturing these turbines in 2008. In October 2007, AAER purchased licenses from AMSC for AMSC WindtecÂ’s WT-2000sg, a proprietary 2 MW wind turbine design. AAER plans to manufacture, sell and commission those wind turbines in Canada, the United States, Mexico, France and the United Kingdom.
In addition to multi-million-dollar upfront license fees for the WT-2000sg, AMSC will receive royalties for every WT-2000sg wind turbine commissioned by AAER and will sell to AAER the electrical systems essential to the operation of the turbines.
“AMSC has continued to increase its penetration of the global wind power market, with sales now being generated on four continents,” Yurek said. “Recent reports show very rapid growth in the wind industry again in 2007, a worldwide trend that is expected to continue for many years to come. This gives us a tremendous opportunity to accelerate our growth and extend our current base of sales.”
According to a report issued on January 18, 2008 by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), 2007 was a record-setting year for the worldwide wind energy market. Total installed wind power capacity grew by 20 gigawatts (GW), or 27 percent year over year, to 94 GW worldwide. With these most recent orders, AMSCÂ’s technologies are supporting approximately 6.5 GW of wind power globally.