AMSC Receives D-VAR Order From Suzlon Energy For Australian Wind Farm
Westborough, MA - American Superconductor Corporation, the energy technologies company, announced recently it has received an order from Suzlon Energy Australia Pty. Ltd. for a Dynamic VAR system for Australia's Hallett Wind Farm. When completed, Hallett will have 94.5 megawatts of capacity and will be one of Australia's largest wind farms.
AMSC will deliver a D-VAR system rated at 20 megaVARs (MVAR) of reactive compensation to SEA in the second half of calendar 2007 that will be installed at a utility substation connecting AGL Energy's Hallett Wind Farm to the national power grid. The Hallett Wind Farm will provide zero-emission electricity for 54,000 Australian homes.
"SEA looked at several reactive compensation solutions to comply with grid interconnection requirements and found AMSC's D-VAR system to be an appropriate solution for our Hallett Wind Farm," said Serel Ogten, SEA's electrical engineering manager. "D-VAR is a proven product that offers us steady-state voltage regulation, power factor correction, and high-voltage ride through capability - all required to comply with the local interconnection requirements for the wind farm."
SEA is a subsidiary of Suzlon Energy A/S of Denmark, the international business arm of Suzlon Energy Limited. SEA is designing, procuring, constructing and commissioning the Hallett Wind Farm project for AGL Energy Limited, Australia's largest retailer of electricity and gas. Located on the Brown Hill Range in South Australia, it will consist of 45 wind turbines rated at 2.1 MW each. The wind farm is scheduled to come on line by early 2008. AMSC's D-VAR systems will regulate the voltage at the Hallett Wind Farm, thereby meeting Australia's stringent grid interconnection standards.
"AMSC is increasing market share in the wind energy sector though its unique D-VAR and PowerModule offerings as well as through sales for our wind turbine designs and wind turbine electrical components with our Windtec subsidiary," said Chuck Stankiewicz, senior vice president, AMSC Power Systems. "This new order from Suzlon demonstrates our growing international presence and our close working relationship with the industry's leading wind turbine manufacturers. With more than $1 billion in annual revenues and in excess of 7,500 employees, Suzlon has rapidly built a substantial presence in the wind energy market in the Asia-Pacific region. We are pleased to be working on this important project and look forward to growing our business with Suzlon."
For more information on AMSC's wind energy solutions, see: http://www.amsuper.com/products/applications/windEnergy/index.cfm.
SOURCE: American Superconductor Corporation and Suzlon Energy Limited