DEVENS, Mass., July 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AMSC (NASDAQ:AMSC), a global energy solutions provider serving wind and power grid industry leaders, today announced that Pepco has undertaken a deployment study of AMSC's Resilient Electric Grid (REG) system. Pepco will also join the Homeland Security's REG Utility Group, an industry group working in cooperation with the government to focus on securing the nation's electricity grids.

"As a result of more frequent and severe storms facing electric utilities around the country, Pepco has undertaken a resiliency plan aimed at substantially increasing the reliability of the distribution system across its service territory by reducing both the frequency and duration of outages for our customers," said David M. Velazquez, Pepco Holdings, Inc. executive vice president, power delivery. "As part of this plan, we evaluate new technologies, such as the Resilient Electric Grid system, that can improve resiliency, reliability and capacity of urban grids."

Developed with the support of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), AMSC's Resilient Electric Grid system is an innovative approach to the underground power distribution system that increases reliability and capacity in urban environments. By interconnecting substations in a way that is not possible with traditional technologies, the REG system enables significant increases in urban grid reliability while also increasing load serving capacity.

"The Washington, D.C., area contains infrastructure critical to the nation's economy, safety, and security so reliable power that can withstand unusual events is of particular importance to Pepco," said Daniel P. McGahn, AMSC President and CEO. "We believe that the REG system may offer an extra layer of protection and resiliency to grid serving the D.C. area. We are pleased that Pepco is exploring the use of the REG system in its grid, and we look forward to understanding the needs of the utility."

Pepco serves more than 801,000 customers in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland.

About AMSC (NASDAQ: AMSC)

AMSC generates the ideas, technologies and solutions that meet the world's demand for smarter, cleaner … better energy. Through its Windtec Solutions, AMSC enables manufacturers to launch best-in-class wind turbines quickly, effectively and profitably. Through its Gridtec Solutions, AMSC provides the engineering planning services and advanced grid systems that optimize network reliability, efficiency and performance. The company's solutions are now powering gigawatts of renewable energy globally and enhancing the performance and reliability of power networks in more than a dozen countries. Founded in 1987, AMSC is headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts with operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.  For more information, please visit www.amsc.com.

AMSC, Windtec, Gridtec, and Smarter, Cleaner … Better Energy, are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation. All other brand names, product names, trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Any statements in this release about expectations regarding our beliefs about the expected benefits of the REG system; our belief that that the REG system may offer an extra layer of protection and resiliency to the Washington D.C. grid; 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. Such forward-looking statements represent management's current expectations and are inherently uncertain. There are a number of important factors that could materially impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. We have a history of operating losses, which may continue in the future. Our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below expectations in any particular fiscal quarter; we have a history of negative operating cash flows, and we may require additional financing in the future, which may not be available to us; Our Term Loans include certain covenants and other events of default. Should we not comply with these covenants or incur an event of default, we may be required to repay our obligation in cash, which could have an adverse effect on our liquidity; We may be required to issue performance bonds or provide letters of credit, which restricts our ability to access any cash used as collateral for the bonds or letters of credit; Changes in exchange rates could adversely affect our results from operations; If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired and may lead investors and other users to lose confidence in our financial data; Our financial condition may have an adverse effect on our customer and supplier relationships; Our success in addressing the wind energy market is dependent on the manufacturers that license our designs; A significant portion of our revenues are derived from a single customer; Our success is dependent upon attracting and retaining qualified personnel and our inability to do so could significantly damage our business and prospects; We may not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts; Our business and operations would be adversely impacted in the event of a failure or security breach of our information technology infrastructure; We may not be able to ramp up production at our newly leased manufacturing facility in Romania, and, if we are able to do so, we may have manufacturing quality issues, which would negatively affect our revenues and financial position; We rely upon third-party suppliers for the components and subassemblies of many of our Wind and Grid products, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations, which could harm our business; Many of our revenue opportunities are dependent upon subcontractors and other business collaborators; If we fail to implement our business strategy successfully, our financial performance could be harmed; Problems with product quality or product performance may cause us to incur warranty expenses and may damage our market reputation and prevent us from achieving increased sales and market share; Regulations related to conflict-free minerals may force us to incur significant additional expenses; Our contracts with the U.S. government are subject to audit, modification or termination by the U.S. government and include certain other provisions in favor of the government. The continued funding of such contracts remains subject to annual congressional appropriation which, if not approved, could reduce our revenue and lower or eliminate our profit; Many of our customers outside of the United States, particularly in China, are either directly or indirectly, related to governmental entities, and we could be adversely affected by violations of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws outside the United States; We have had limited experience in marketing and selling our superconductor products and system-level solutions, and our failure to effectively market and sell our products and solutions could lower our revenue and cash flow; We may acquire additional complementary businesses or technologies, which may require us to incur substantial costs for which we may never realize the anticipated benefits; Our success depends upon the commercial use of high temperature superconductor (HTS) products, which is currently limited, and a widespread commercial market for our products may not develop; Growth of the wind energy market depends largely on the availability and size of government subsidies and economic incentives; We have operations in and depend on sales in emerging markets, including India and China, and global conditions could negatively affect our operating results or limit our ability to expand our operations outside of these countries. Changes in India's or China's political, social, regulatory and economic environment may affect our financial performance; Our products face intense competition, which could limit our ability to acquire or retain customers; Our international operations are subject to risks that we do not face in the United States, which could have an adverse effect on our operating results; Adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our operating results; We may be unable to adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information; Our patents may not provide meaningful protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some or all of our market position; There are a number of technological challenges that must be successfully addressed before our superconductor products can gain widespread commercial acceptance, and our inability to address such technological challenges could adversely affect our ability to acquire customers for our products; Third parties have or may acquire patents that cover the materials, processes and technologies we use or may use in the future to manufacture our Amperium products, and our success depends on our ability to license such patents or other proprietary rights; Our technology and products could infringe intellectual property rights of others, which may require costly litigation and, if we are not successful, could cause us to pay substantial damages and disrupt our business; We have filed a demand for arbitration and other lawsuits against our former largest customer, Sinovel, regarding amounts we contend are overdue. We cannot be certain as to the outcome of these proceedings; We have been named as a party in various legal proceedings, and we may be named in additional litigation, all of which will require significant management time and attention, result in significant legal expenses and may result in an unfavorable outcome, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition; and our common stock has experienced, and may continue to experience, significant market price and volume fluctuations, which may prevent our stockholders from selling our common stock at a profit and could lead to costly litigation against us that could divert our management's attention.

These and the important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in Part 1. Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, and our other reports filed with the SEC, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements made herein and presented elsewhere by management from time to time. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

CONTACT: AMSC Contact:

         Kerry Farrell

         Phone: 978-842-3247

         Email: kerry.farrell@amsc.com