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American Superconductor and GE Energy Receive Order for Two D-VAR(R) Systems From City of Detroit Public Lighting Department

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 09:10 CDT

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Superconductor Corporation , a leading energy technologies company, and GE Energy, a business of the General Electric Company, received an order for two D-VAR(R) systems from the City of Detroit Public Lighting Department (PLD), a Municipal Electrical Utility with public and private customers based in Detroit, Michigan. D-VAR voltage regulation systems are designed to dynamically regulate voltage levels on power grids. PLD will utilize the D-VAR systems to provide the voltage support that was previously provided by local electrical generators but at a much higher cost, a challenge frequently faced by utilities. American Superconductor expects to ship the D- VAR systems in June 2006 for installation at the Detroit PLD Mistersky 24 kilovolt (kV) substation in Detroit, Michigan. Commissioning is planned to take place in late summer of 2006.

"We expect our annual energy costs to be reduced by at least $10 million with the D-VAR solution in place -- a great benefit for the citizens of Detroit," said Kwame Kilpatrick, Mayor of Detroit. "We have always run extra electrical generators in our system to support grid voltage to ensure reliable service for the citizens of Detroit. With D-VAR technology, we can significantly scale back use of the generators, which have become more and more expensive to run because of increasing fuel costs."

Detroit PLD's Mistersky Power Station managers found that they were frequently running multiple local generators to provide voltage stability on their 24kV network. This results in a premium cost of power versus the import price available on the wholesale market. By replacing the generators with the two D-VAR systems, Detroit PLD expects significant enough savings in their energy costs to completely offset the D-VAR costs in approximately 6 months.

"Utilities today are facing new pressures brought on by increasing energy costs and a combination of load growth, competition, and customer demands for improved power quality and reliability," noted Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president of AMSC Power Systems. "We are delighted to be working with Detroit PLD to bring the benefits of D-VAR systems to their network and to help them reduce their energy costs dramatically. We see multiple opportunities for utilizing D-VAR to replace 'reliability-must-run' generators in municipalities across the U.S."

Classified as a STATCOM, Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) device, D-VAR dynamic voltage regulation systems detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by injecting leading or lagging reactive power, measured in VARs, precisely where it is needed on the grid. Powered by AMSC's PowerModule(TM) advanced power electronic converters, the D-VAR systems can be customized to meet specific customer needs through variations in operating software and in the number of PowerModule electronic converters required for the proper level of VAR support.

To learn more about AMSC's D-VAR system for electric utility, industrial power quality and wind farm applications, see: http://www.amsuper.com/products/transmissionGrid/104273030481.cfm.

About the Detroit Public Lighting Department

Founded in 1894, Detroit PLD is a one of the nation's oldest public utilities, with public and private customers. Its customers include; public buildings, schools, university buildings, hospital and medical buildings, Police, Fire buildings, libraries, traffic signals, etc. as well as street lighting. Today, PLD supplies power to about 300 customers with over 1800 metered locations. http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/

About American Superconductor Corporation

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(TM). More information is available at http://www.amsuper.com.

American Superconductor and design, AMSC, POWERED BY AMSC, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, and PowerModule are trademarks and D-VAR and SuperVAR are registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Any statements in this release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including 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.

Contact Information Media Rick Sheehy 508-621-4454 American Superconductor news@amsuper.com Investors Jason Fredette 508-621-4177 American Superconductor investor@amsuper.com

American Superconductor Corporation

CONTACT: Media: Rick Sheehy, +1-508-621-4454, news@amsuper.com, orInvestors: Jason Fredette, +1-508-621-4177, investor@amsuper.com

Web site: http://www.amsuper.com/http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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