Turbine licence

American Superconductor's Windtec subsidiary has licensed its proprietary 2MW doubly-fed induction wind turbine design to Inox Wind, part of India's Inox Group of companies.

The licence provides Inox with the right to manufacture and sell the wind turbines globally. Inox plans to begin series production of the 2MW wind turbines in 2010.

In addition to providing licensed designs to Inox, American Superconductor will help the company establish its manufacturing line and build and test its first prototype wind turbines, as well as provide the electrical systems for the turbines.

American Superconductor will receive an upfront licence fee as well as royalty payments as part of the deal.

Inox has a diverse line of businesses, more than 4,500 employees and nearly $600m (£377m) in annual sales. The company owns and operates several wind farms in India.

Inox is American Superconductor's second wind turbine manufacturing customer in India. In 2008, Windtec licensed a 1.65MW wind turbine design to Ghodawat Industries, which plans to commercially produce turbines by the end of 2009.

Global wind energy capacity grew by nearly 29 per cent in 2008 to reach more than 120GW, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).

India ranked as the world's fifth largest wind power market at the end of 2008, with nearly 10GW of capacity. The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association estimates that the potential for wind development in India is approximately 65 to 70GW.