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Company type | Public |
---|---|
Nasdaq: AMSC Russell Microcap Index component | |
Industry | Electric power infrastructure |
Founded | 1987[1] |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Daniel P. McGahn (president & CEO) |
Revenue | $316 million (2010) [2] |
$16 million (2010) | |
Total assets | $400 million (2010) |
Website | amsc |
American Superconductor (AMSC) is an American energy technologies company headquartered in Ayer, Massachusetts. The firm specializes in using superconductors for the development of diverse power systems, including but not limited to superconducting wire. [3] Moreover, AMSC employs superconductors in the construction of ship protection systems. [4] The company has a subsidiary, AMSC Windtec, located in Klagenfurt, Austria.
On Aug 31, 2021 American Superconductor and ComEd announced the successful integration of AMSC’s REG system, which utilizes high-temperature superconductor wire to enhance the reliability, resiliency and performance of the electric power grid. This REG system has been running in commercial service since then. This project was partially funded by Homeland Security as it protects this part of the grid from EMP and other hazards. A second, larger phase is under design.
American Superconductor installed a test of a superconducting electric power transmission power cable in the Detroit Edison Frisbee substation in 2001. [5] [6] [7]
The world's first production superconducting transmission power cable, the Holbrook Superconductor Project, was commissioned in late June 2008. The suburban Long Island electrical substation is fed by about 600 meters of high-temperature superconductor wire manufactured by American Superconductor, installed underground and chilled to superconducting temperatures with liquid nitrogen. [8]
American Superconductor was chosen as a supplier for the Tres Amigas Project, the United States' first renewable energy market hub. [9] The Tres Amigas renewable energy market hub will be a multi-mile, triangular electricity pathway of Superconductor Electricity Pipelines capable of transferring and balancing many gigawatts of power between three U.S. power grids (the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection). Unlike traditional powerlines, it will transfer power as DC instead of AC current. It will be located in Clovis, New Mexico.
AMSC will sell three million meters of wire to allow LS Cable to build 10–15 miles of superconducting cabling for the grid. This represents an order of magnitude increase over the size of the current largest installation, at Long Island Power. [10]
AMSC has demonstrated a 36.5 MW (49,000 horsepower) high-temperature superconductor (HTS) electric motor for the United States Navy, and is developing a similar 10 megawatt wind turbine generator through its wholly owned Austria-based subsidiary AMSC Windtec. This would be one of the world's most powerful turbines. It operates at 30–40 kelvins, and the cooling system uses 40 kW. [11]
In 2009, the Department of Energy announced that they would provide $4.8M to AMSC for further development of superconducting electrical cables. [3]
In early 2011, a Serbian employee of American Superconductor sold the company's proprietary wind turbine control software to the company's largest customer, China based Sinovel. Sinovel promptly ended its payments to American Superconductor, causing the company to lose 84% of its market cap. The employee was bribed for only $20,500, and later pleaded guilty to bribery charges. [12]
Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a transmission network. This is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the electrical grid.
Technological applications of superconductivity include:
The electric power industry covers the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electric power to the general public and industry. The commercial distribution of electric power started in 1882 when electricity was produced for electric lighting. In the 1880s and 1890s, growing economic and safety concerns lead to the regulation of the industry. What was once an expensive novelty limited to the most densely populated areas, reliable and economical electric power has become an essential aspect for normal operation of all elements of developed economies.
Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximately 50,000 square miles.
Grid energy storage is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when electricity is plentiful and inexpensive or when demand is low, and later returned to the grid when demand is high, and electricity prices tend to be higher.
The East–West Interconnector is a 500 MW high-voltage direct current submarine and subsoil power cable which connects the Irish and British electricity markets. The project was developed by the Irish national grid operator EirGrid.
The Texas Interconnection is an alternating current (AC) power grid – a wide area synchronous grid – that covers most of the state of Texas. The grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is mainly focused on three systems of a smart grid – the infrastructure system, the management system, and the protection system. Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects of the smart grid.
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd. is a UKAS accredited test and research centre focused on wave and tidal power development, based in the Orkney Islands, UK. The centre provides developers with the opportunity to test full-scale grid-connected prototype devices in wave and tidal conditions.
ITC Holdings Corporation is an American energy company which owns and operates high-voltage electricity transmission networks. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, ITC has operations in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian energy company Fortis Inc.
The Holbrook Superconductor Project is the world's first production superconducting transmission power cable. The lines were commissioned in 2008. The suburban Long Island electrical substation is fed by a 600 meter long tunnel containing approximately 155,000 meters of high-temperature superconductor wire manufactured by American Superconductor, installed underground and chilled to superconducting temperature with liquid nitrogen.
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power over long distances, and finally electric power distribution to customers. In that last step, voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage. Power stations are typically built close to energy sources and far from densely populated areas. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids.
The electricity sectors of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are integrated and supply 2.5 million customers from a combination of coal, peat, natural gas, wind and hydropower. In 2022, 34 TWh were generated. In 2018 natural gas produced 51.8%, while wind turbines generated 28.1%, coal 7%, and peat 6.8% of Ireland's average electricity demand. In 2020 wind turbines generated 36.3% of Ireland's electrical demand, one of the highest wind power proportions in the world. While the United Kingdom was one of the first countries in the world to deploy commercial nuclear power plants, the island of Ireland has never had a nuclear power plant built on either side of the Irish border. Nuclear power in Ireland was discussed in the 1960s and 1970s but ultimately never phased in, with legislation now in place explicitly forbidding its introduction.
Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) is a U.S. publicly owned renewable energy company, providing electric power and communications solutions, services and related for remote offshore applications. The company's PowerBuoy wave energy conversion technology is theoretically scalable to hundreds of megawatts and the generated energy from wave power can be supplied to the grid via submarine cables. Several projects were undertaken around the world, but the economic viability of the theoretical concept has been problematic.
The Tres Amigas SuperStation was a project proposed in 2009 to unite North America’s two major power grids and one of its three minor grids, with the goals of enabling faster adoption of renewable energy and increasing the reliability of the U.S. grid.
Superconducting electric machines are electromechanical systems that rely on the use of one or more superconducting elements. Since superconductors have no DC resistance, they typically have greater efficiency. The most important parameter that is of utmost interest in superconducting machine is the generation of a very high magnetic field that is not possible in a conventional machine. This leads to a substantial decrease in the motor volume; which means a great increase in the power density. However, since superconductors only have zero resistance under a certain superconducting transition temperature, Tc that is hundreds of degrees lower than room temperature, cryogenics are required.
Renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, hydro, biomass, and geothermal have become significant sectors of the energy market. The rapid growth of these sources in the 21st century has been prompted by increasing costs of fossil fuels as well as their environmental impact issues that significantly lowered their use.
EuroAfrica Interconnector is a planned HVDC interconnector and submarine power cable between the Greek, Cypriot, and Egypt power grids. The Interconnector is an energy highway bridging Africa and Europe. It will have a capacity to transmit 2,000 megawatts of electricity in either direction. Annual transmission capacity will be rated at 17.5 TWh, much more than the annual production at the Aswan Dam power stations. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, issued a joint declaration at the conclusion of the 7th Trilateral Summit, held in Cairo on October 8, 2019, in which they expressed their desire to continue strengthening their cooperation in matters of energy. In particular, the joint declaration by the three leaders stated they recognised the importance of establishing an electrical grid between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece, building on the framework agreement between the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company and the Euro Africa Interconnector Company on 22 May 2019.
The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project (TSP) is a 8MW/32MWh lithium-ion battery-based grid energy storage system at the Monolith Substation of Southern California Edison (SCE) in Tehachapi, California, sufficient to power between 1,600 and 2,400 homes for four hours. At the time of commissioning in 2014, it was the largest lithium-ion battery system operating in North America and one of the largest in the world. TSP is considered to be a modern-day energy storage pioneer with significant accomplishments that have proven the viability of utility-scale energy storage using lithium-ion technology. While originally envisioned as a research and development project, TSP operated as a distribution-level resource for SCE and for calendar year 2020, SCE reported that TSP operated in the wholesale energy market with revenue exceeding operating and maintenance costs. In 2021, SCE began the decommissioning of TSP, which was followed by formal decommissioning by state regulators in 2022. The physical dismantlement of TSP is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Empire Wind is a proposed utility-scale offshore wind farm on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore New York. It will be located in Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease area OCS-A 0512 in the New York Bight about 15 miles (24 km) south of Jones Beach, Long Island.