During the conference call, AMSC was asked who were their biggest potential customers besides Sinovel. HHI was first and foremost... but they came back later and said they forgot to mention Doosan. Doosan is shown on their timeline to begin production of the 3MW in Q410. I thought some of you might be interested in reading this from the Doosan website:

- Plant to Be Completed in October for Demonstrative Operation

Doosan shipped the WinDS3000,’ its 3MW-class marine wind power generator, from the company’s Changwon Plant on August 28.

The company, which began the national development project in 2006, has successfully produced the 3MW-class for the first time in Asia using its own technology after a three-year endeavor. The model will be installed at the coastal area in Gimnyeong, Jeju, the “islands of winds,” and undergo a yearlong test operation for its slated commercialization in the second half of next year.

A 3MW-class wind power system is the smallest scale of marine wind power generators and the largest of inland wind power generators. Wind power equipment makers are presently scrambling to develop products of this size, as it will become the mainstream segment for the future, which can target both the inland and marine wind power markets. Demand for products of this size has been growing explosively in recent years due to a boom in the construction of marine wind power complexes.

The ‘Doosan WinDS3000’ has been designed to withstand winds of up to 70 meters per second to cater to weather conditions of Korea with many typhoons and storms. Also corrosion-resistant materials have been used to prevent corrosion of facilities due to salinity. Additionally, product competitiveness has been significantly enhanced through a reduction of the gear box weight, while its power generation efficiency has been maximized through the use of generators adopting permanent magnets.

Moreover, a built-in crane is installed in the generator, which effectively addresses the efficiency of conventional wind power generation systems, which require large vessel-mounted cranes whenever maintenance and repair work is conducted.

Jongwook Jin, head of the wind power business team, said, “We will begin a test operation of the model in September, and win international certification and start selling it in earnest next year,” adding, “Only a few companies in the world have succeeded in the development of a 3MW-class wind power system. As such, the WinDS3000 holds high added value.”