American Superconductor Corp.'s (www.amsc.com) wholly owned AMSC Windtec subsidiary has licensed its proprietary 2-MW doubly fed induction wind turbine design to Inox Wind Ltd., part of India's Inox Group of Companies (Inox). The license provides Inox with the right to manufacture and sell the wind turbines globally. Inox plans to begin series production of the 2-MW wind turbines in 2010.

In addition to providing licensed designs to Inox, AMSC will help the company localize the supply of key wind turbine components, establish its manufacturing line, and build and test Inox's first prototype wind turbines. AMSC will receive an upfront license fee as well as royalty payments. AMSC also will provide the electrical systems for the 2-MW wind turbines.

Inox's diverse line of businesses employs more than 4500 people and reports US$600 million in annual sales. The company owns and operates several wind farms in India.

Inox is AMSC's second wind turbine manufacturing customer in India. In 2008, AMSC Windtec licensed a 1.65-MW wind turbine design to Ghodawat Industries (India) Pvt. Ltd. Ghodawat plans to enter into commercial production of these wind turbines by the end of 2009.

Global wind energy capacity grew by nearly 29% in 2008 to reach more than 120 GW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. India ranked as the world's fifth-largest wind power market at the end of 2008, with nearly 10 GW of capacity. The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association estimates that the potential for wind development in India is approximately 65 GW to 70 GW.