American Superconductor
Encyclopedia
American Superconductor is an American energy technologies company based in Devens, Massachusetts specializing in the design and manufacture of power systems and superconducting wire. It owns AMSC Windtech in Klagenfurt
, Austria
.
Frisbee substation in 2001.
power cable, the Holbrook Superconductor Project
, was commissioned in late June 2008. The suburban Long Island
electrical substation
is fed by about 99 miles of superconductor wire manufactured by American Superconductor, installed underground and chilled with liquid nitrogen
to minimize power loss in the transmission lines.
, the United States’ first renewable energy market hub. 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
.
announced that they would provide $4.8M to AMSC for further development of superconducting electrical cables.
(HTS) electric motor
for the United States Navy
, and is developing a similar 10MW
wind turbine
generator through its wholly owned Austria
-based subsidiary AMSC Windtech. It operates at 30-40 Kelvin
, and the cooling system uses 40kW.
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Detroit Edison Project
American Superconductor installed a test of a superconducting electric power transmission power cable in the Detroit EdisonDetroit Edison
The Detroit Edison Company, founded in 1903, is an investor-owned electric utility which serves most of Southeast Michigan. Its parent company, DTE Energy , provides energy services to a variety of clients beyond Detroit Edison's service area.- History :...
Frisbee substation in 2001.
Holbrook Superconductor Project
The world's first production superconducting transmissionElectric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
power cable, the Holbrook Superconductor Project
Holbrook Superconductor Project
The Holbrook Superconductor Project is the world's first production superconducting transmission power cable. The lines were commissioned in 2008...
, was commissioned in late June 2008. The suburban Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
electrical substation
Electrical substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions...
is fed by about 99 miles of superconductor wire manufactured by American Superconductor, installed underground and chilled with liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
to minimize power loss in the transmission lines.
Tres Amigas Project
American Superconductor was chosen as a supplier for the Tres Amigas ProjectTres Amigas Project
The Tres Amigas SuperStation focuses on uniting North America’s two major power grids and one minor grid to enable faster adoption of renewable energy and increase the reliability of the U.S...
, the United States’ first renewable energy market hub. 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
Clovis, New Mexico
Clovis is the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 32,667 at the 2000 census; according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates, the population had risen to 37,775....
.
2009 government stimulus
In 2009, the Department of EnergyUnited States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
announced that they would provide $4.8M to AMSC for further development of superconducting electrical cables.
Korea's LS Cable
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.HTS rotors
AMSC has demonstrated a 36.5 MW (49,000 horsepower) High-temperature superconductorHigh-temperature superconductivity
High-temperature superconductors are materials that have a superconducting transition temperature above . From 1960 to 1980, 30 K was thought to be the highest theoretically possible Tc...
(HTS) electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, and is developing a similar 10MW
MW
-Transportation:* Maintenance of way, railroad upkeep* Maya Island Air IATA airline designator-Games:* Mafia Wars, a game on Facebook* MechWarrior, a profession in the fictional universe of BattleTech...
wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
generator through its wholly owned Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
-based subsidiary AMSC Windtech. It operates at 30-40 Kelvin
Kelvin
The kelvin is a unit of measurement for temperature. It is one of the seven base units in the International System of Units and is assigned the unit symbol K. The Kelvin scale is an absolute, thermodynamic temperature scale using as its null point absolute zero, the temperature at which all...
, and the cooling system uses 40kW.