DEVENS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has signed a multi-million-dollar contract to provide wind turbine designs to China's XJ Group Corporation (XJ Group). Under the terms of the contract, AMSC's wholly owned AMSC Windtec^™ subsidiary will provide XJ Group with designs for its WT2000df, a 2 megawatt (MW) doubly fed induction wind turbine. In addition to the upfront fee, AMSC also expects to provide core electrical components for the 2 MW wind turbines manufactured by XJ Group.

Founded in 1970 and based in the city of Xuchang in the Henan province of China, XJ Group is one of China's largest manufacturers of power equipment and transmission and distribution technologies for the electric utility market. The company's advanced technologies and services are aimed at improving the performance and efficiency of its customers' operations. XJ Group employs more than 5,000 people worldwide and operates facilities in 30 countries globally, including 40 locations throughout China.

"The wind power market in China and around the world continues to expand at a dramatic rate," said Li Fusheng, President of XJ Group. "We selected AMSC Windtec because of its proven turbine designs, its ability to help us localize our supply chain and its high-performance wind turbine electrical systems. In addition to utilizing standard AMSC Windtec designs for the WT2000df, AMSC Windtec and XJ Group will jointly adapt the turbine for specific environmental and wind conditions, such as the low average wind speeds, low air density and severe climates encountered in certain regions of China. With our years of expertise and relationships in the electric utility industry, we plan to become a major participant in the wind power industry."

While XJ Group initially expects to produce wind turbines for the Chinese market, the company has the right to sell the WT2000df worldwide. XJ Group plans to have its first prototypes installed and commissioned by the end of 2009 and expects to begin shipping wind turbines to customers in 2010.

"XJ Group is a well established manufacturer and supplier of products and services for the Chinese electric utility industry," said Greg Yurek, founder and chief executive officer of AMSC. "XJ Group will be a strong partner to address the growing needs for high power, high efficiency wind turbines in China and around the world. We look forward to working with them to bring their first wind turbines to market."

Recent reports have indicated that China may increase its wind power capacity from 6 gigawatts at the end of 2007 to 100 gigawatts by 2020. This type of expansion would require approximately 47,000 2 MW wind turbines over a 12-year timeframe.

To learn more about AMSC's product offerings for the wind industry, please visit http://www.amsc.com/products/applications/windEnergy/index.html.

About XJ Group Corporation

XJ Group is a leader in China in power equipment manufacturing and services for power generation, transmission & distribution that enable global utility and industry customers to improve their performance and efficiency. The XJ Group of companies operates in all over China and around 30 countries for the last 38 years. For more information, visit http://english.xjgc.com/Company.asp.

About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)

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^™ technology, 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.amsc.com.

American Superconductor and design, Revolutionizing the Way the World Uses Electricity, AMSC, Powered by AMSC, D-VAR, PQ-IVR, PowerModule, 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: American Superconductor Corporation