William B. Cassidy | Sep 23, 2011 2:42PM EDT
Power technology company American Superconductor will increase shipments of wind turbine controls under a series of contracts valued at nearly $100 million.
The contracts also include agreements to help improve electric power grids in the U.S. and Europe and orders for wire used in superconductor power cables. The contracts will help the struggling company recover from the loss of millions of dollars in business from its biggest customer, China’s Sinovel Wind Group.
Devens, Mass.-based AMSC accuses Sinovel of stealing the software code for its wind turbine controls. A former AMSC worker is charged with selling the code to Sinovel.
AMSC this week reported a net loss of $186 million for its fiscal year that ended March 31. That loss included $158.5 million related to the break with Sinovel.
Despite the Sinovel debacle, AMSC isn’t shying away from the Chinese market.
One of its new contracts is a multi-year deal to deliver wind turbine control systems to Beijing Jincheng New Energy Co. That contract will run through 2014.
AMSC will also ship wind turbine ECS to Inox Wind in India, and wind turbine core electrical components to Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc
