DEVENS, Mass., Nov 23, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a global power technologies company, today announced that Korea's LS Cable Ltd. and France's Nexans have been selected as the superconductor power cable subcontractors for the Tres Amigas SuperStation. This first-of-its-kind power transmission hub will be located in Clovis, New Mexico and is expected to link America's three primary electric transmission grids - the Eastern (Southwest Power Pool), Western (Western Electricity Coordinating Council) and Texas (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) interconnections. LS Cable and Nexans will both manufacture superconductor power cables utilizing Amperium wire - AMSC's proprietary second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire.

Once completed, the Tres Amigas SuperStation will, for the first time, provide the capability to transfer thousands of megawatts of power between the three asynchronous U.S. power grids. Tres Amigas is intended to enable the faster adoption of renewable energy and increase the reliability of the U.S. grid.

"America's clean tech markets require a modern power grid to transmit large quantities of electricity from renewable energy sources to customers in urban centers," said Phil Harris, founder and chief executive officer of Tres Amigas. "By connecting America's three power grids, Tres Amigas is taking this challenge head on. We are delighted that AMSC has chosen to work with two of the world's largest and most respected cable manufacturers for this project of national importance."

About Tres Amigas, LLC

Tres Amigas, LLC is uniting the nation's electric grid. Utilizing the latest advances in power grid technology, Tres Amigas is focused on providing the first common interconnection of America's three power grids to help the country achieve its renewable energy goals and facilitate the smooth, reliable and efficient transfer of green power from region to region. Tres Amigas, LLC is a merchant transmission entity composed of electric utility industry operational, technology and thought leaders.

About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)

AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure - from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in renewable energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC'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 http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amsc.com&esheet=6521556&lan=en-US&anchor=www.amsc.com&index=5&md5=eba1257f4fae41dc222a059218ad08bf.

American Superconductor and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, AMSC, Powered by AMSC, Amperium, D-VAR, dSVC, FaultBlocker, PowerModule, PowerPipelines, PQ-IVR, PQ-SVC, SeaTitan, SuperGEAR and Windtec and design are trademarks or registered trademarks of American Superconductor Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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 materially impact the value of our common stock or cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include: we have a history of operating losses, and we may incur losses in the future; our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and may fall below expectations in any particular fiscal quarter; a significant portion of our revenues are derived from a single customer and revenues from this customer may decline in future periods; adverse changes in domestic and global economic conditions could adversely affect our business; changes in exchange rates could adversely affect our financial results; we may not realize all of the sales expected from our backlog of orders and contracts; we rely upon third party suppliers for the components and subassemblies of many of our products, making us vulnerable to supply shortages and price fluctuations; we have not manufactured our Amperium wire in commercial quantities, and a failure to manufacture our Amperium wire in commercial quantities at acceptable cost and quality levels would substantially limit our future revenue and profit potential; and our patents may not provide meaningful protection for our technology, which could result in us losing some or all of our market position. 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, any 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: American Superconductor Corporation

AMSC
Jason Fredette, 978-842-3177
Managing Director, Corporate Communications
jfredette@amsc.com