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AMSC Wins Two New Department of Energy Superconductor Power Grid Projects

Posted on: Thursday, 28 June 2007, 09:00 CDT

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, today announced that the United States Department of Energy is providing up to $21.7 million in funding for the following two new AMSC high temperature superconductor (HTS) projects:

AMSC has been selected to lead the development of key components required to commercially deploy an HTS power cable system powered by AMSC's second generation (2G) HTS wire (branded as 344 superconductors) in the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) power grid. This will be a transmission voltage (138kV) extension of the cable system that is currently being installed in LIPA's grid, which utilizes first generation HTS wire and which is expected to be energized later this year. AMSC will serve as project manager and wire supplier, and has chosen Nexans as the cable manufacturer and Air Liquide Advanced Technologies U.S. LLC as the provider of the cryogenics system. The DOE has allocated $9 million in cost sharing to this $18 million project.

AMSC has also been selected to develop and perform in-grid testing of a three-phase 115-kV fault current limiter (FCL) using the company's 344 superconductors. This FCL will feature a proprietary Siemens-developed, low-inductance coil technology that makes the FCL invisible to the grid until it switches to a resistive state. Earlier this year, AMSC and Siemens announced they had achieved commercial-grade performance levels for a medium-voltage FCL. The demonstration will occur at a location operated by team member Southern California Edison. AMSC will serve as project manager. The team also includes: Siemens AG (Germany), Nexans (France), the University of Houston (Houston, TX) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, NM). The DOE has allocated $12.7 million in cost sharing to this $25 million project.

In the DOE's announcement (see http://www.doe.gov/news/5180.htm), DOE Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said, "Modernizing our congested and constrained electric grid - through the development of advanced, new technologies -- is vital to delivering reliable and affordable power to the American people. As demand for electricity continues to grow, we must take steps now to identify potential problems, identify solutions, and deploy new technologies to provide a secure and steady energy supply. We look forward to the success of this research and recognize it will help us realize President Bush's goal of a more modern and efficient electricity system."

These represent two of the five new cost-shared projects the DOE is sponsoring to help accelerate the modernization of the U.S. electricity grid using HTS technology. AMSC said it also expected to compete for wire orders from one or more of the other DOE-funded power cable and FCL projects.

Utilities stand to benefit greatly from the emergence of HTS cables and FCLs. With the ability to conduct up to 10 times the power of copper cables of the same diameter, HTS power cables hold tremendous promise, particularly for urban and metropolitan areas. FCLs act as high-voltage surge protectors for power grids. The increasing power being carried on grids today is creating ever larger power surges, which are known in the utility industry as fault currents. Circuit breakers are being used to protect the network today and prevent widespread blackouts. In many areas, however, the fault currents are approaching and exceeding the limits of today's most powerful breakers. FCLs are being developed to address this concern.

"We are delighted that the DOE has chosen AMSC to lead two superconductor projects in its initiative to modernize the U.S. power infrastructure," stated AMSC founder and CEO Greg Yurek. "These DOE projects provide an immediate market for our 344 superconductors once we commence volume production of this wire in December 2007."

About AMSC

AMSC (American Superconductor Corporation - NASDAQ: AMSC) is a leading energy technologies company, offering an array of solutions based on two proprietary technologies: programmable power electronic converters and high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires. The company's products, services and system-level solutions enable cleaner, more efficient and more reliable generation, delivery and use of electric power. AMSC is a leader in alternative energy, offering grid interconnection solutions as well as licensed wind energy designs and electrical systems. As the world's principal supplier of HTS wire, the company is enabling a new generation of compact, high-power electrical products, including power cables, grid-level surge protectors, Secure Super Grids™, motors, generators, and advanced transportation and defense systems. AMSC also provides utility and industrial customers worldwide with voltage regulation systems that dramatically enhance power grid capacity, reliability and security, as well as industrial productivity. The company's technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information is available at www.amsuper.com.

American Superconductor and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, AMSC, Powered by AMSC, SuperVAR, D-VAR, DVC, PQ-IVR, PowerModule, PQ-SVC, Secure Super Grids, Windtec and SuperGEAR are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation or its subsidiaries.

Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the company, including our expectations regarding the future financial performance of the company 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; and the competition encountered by the company. Reference is made to these and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" 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.

Source: Business Wire

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