Daniel McGahn
Analyst · Ardour Capital
Thanks, Dave. For those of you that are new to AMSC, our business is divided into 2 segments: Windtec Solutions and Gridtec Solutions. Both of these business segments address the smart energy value chain from generation to transmission and distribution.
From a generation perspective, we design some of the world's most advanced wind turbines. We license these designs and provide our licensees with smart converter and control systems.
Our Windtec solutions lower the cost of energy and enable wind power to compete more effectively with conventional power sources. Our business model is ideal for emerging markets that don't yet have established wind turbine manufacturers. And it is the emerging markets that show promise for the wind industry. In fact, the wind markets in South America, the Middle East, Africa and South Korea are expected to grow at double-digit growth rates. Through this business model, several years ago, we played a key role in creating what then became China's largest wind turbine manufacturer. And today, we believe that our partner in India has the potential to become the leading wind turbine OEM in India.
Moving through the energy value chain. Our Gridtec Solutions are responding to some of the world's foremost energy challenges. Our renewable interconnectivity solutions safely, efficiently and effectively connect renewable energy installations to the electricity grid. Our power quality solutions help industrial and mining facilities achieve smooth operation, with minimal impact to the grid. And our utility reactive power solutions reduce the bottlenecks and congestion that lead to power outages and grid disturbances that cost the economy billions of dollars every year.
Our high-temperature superconductor products enable game-changing applications. Our ship degaussing system offers the U.S. Navy a more advanced form of protection for its ships. And our resilient electric grid system creates a more resilient and redundant grid. The system enables urban economies to function through severe weather, acts of willful destruction or similar events that lead to the loss of one of a city's substations. Our business is predicated on solving some of the world's most complex power issues. Our employees are dedicated to providing our customers with clear and sustainable commercial and operational advantages.
Now let's move on to an update for the market, starting with the Chinese wind market. Challenges remain. The housing bubble is putting strain on the economy, making access to capital difficult. Additionally, the wind industry continues to be plagued by electrical grid infrastructure challenges and wind turbine OEM overcapacity. The majority of the grid infrastructure challenges are in Northern China, where wind resources are most favorable. With a significant portion of its pipeline located in Northern China, our customer, JCNE, like many other Chinese manufacturers, has been impacted by the slower-than-anticipated wind market recovery. These challenges have impacted JCNE's business and their ability to deliver wind projects and wind turbines to the market. This has prevented them from gaining the traction that they had previously anticipated. That being said, JCNE contributed to more than 20% of our revenues in the second quarter.
While on the topic of the Chinese wind market, let me provide a brief update on our litigation with Sinovel. We have not seen any movement from the Chinese courts since we last spoke. We know that there is a dialog occurring at the highest levels of both the Chinese and American governments. And we know that we have the support of the administration here in the United States. It seems it is now in the hands of these governments to rectify the situation and provide restitution for what was stolen.
On to the Indian wind market. Our licensee in India is Inox Wind. I'd like to walk you through who Inox is, its business model and why they have the potential to be India's leading wind turbine manufacturer.
The Indian wind market is being driven largely by a need for power. The country, which already faces an energy deficit, requires significant power capacity to be added to sustain GDP growth. This is different than it is in the West. The growth of renewables is supported by the government of India through improved regulatory incentives such as renewable purchase obligations, renewable energy certificates, higher feed-in tariffs and generation-based incentives.
Inox Wind is well positioned to capitalize on these market conditions. It is backed by its parent company, the Inox Group of Companies, a professionally managed $2 billion business with a demonstrated track record of execution in multiple markets. Inox Wind is focused on providing high-quality, reliable and cost-competitive wind turbines. It is approaching the market with a state-by-state strategy, by focusing on states with strong wind resources and specific state incentives.
This strategy is working. Inox increased its market share from 2% to 15% in just one year's time. To ensure its continued growth and success, we are committed to continuing to provide Inox with the most advanced technology so that they can continue to manufacture some of the most advanced wind turbines on the market. We are also working closely with Inox to put the infrastructure in place to ensure that they can maintain their fleet through high-quality maintenance and repair services. In short, both AMSC and Inox are committed to a mutually beneficial relationship.
The offshore market shows strong growth prospects for the wind industry. In fact, we recently sold HTS product to a large international company that is in the wind business today. This company is looking to develop larger wind turbines, potentially using superconductors. Larger, more powerful wind turbines lower both wind foreign capital cost and operating and maintenance costs, while raising energy yields. Put simply, larger wind turbines mean more energy for less money, and our technologies enable larger wind turbines.
We move on now to the Gridtec Solutions. We told you that the strategy with our D-VAR solution is to continue to grow our existing markets in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom, while expanding into new markets like Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. To put the magnitude of the opportunity of these new emerging markets into perspective, the combined market size in these regions is larger than the market in North America. Their need for D-VAR's STATCOM solutions varies. Some are growing economies that require grid infrastructure investment, others have large mining industries that can wreak havoc on the electricity grid. And others are heavily investing in renewable energy and require interconnection solutions to maintain a stable grid. We are addressing all of these applications across the globe. We've gained a foothold into some of these regions and we now believe that we're in position to develop a sustainable market share.
In fact, in the second quarter, we announced our first win in South Africa as one example of a country that is developing its renewable industry. We believe there is a market in South Africa. The country's wind industry is expected to grow rapidly. In response, the country has designed strict grid codes that must be met for renewable power plants to connect to the grid. These codes will ensure high-quality power and a stable electricity grid. Our D-VAR solution ensures that renewable installations meet these grid interconnection requirements.
Australia is an important market for us. The results of the recent election in Australia is one of the reason -- one of the primary challenges to achieving our fiscal year growth prospects. The incumbent candidate, whose party is supportive of the renewables industry, had a significant lead in the polls. But over the summer months, the polls got tighter. The opposition campaigned on reviewing the country's renewable energy targets in 2014 and put in place a plan to abolish the carbon pricing policy. This created uncertainty in the industry and constriction in the market. In fact, the $20 billion pipeline in renewable investment was put largely on hold. Only a couple of wind projects moved forward in the months before the election. The opposition won the election in September.
While the new government is not as supportive of renewables as the previous government, industry analysts are not making any changes to their long-term growth projections in Australia. Experts believe that any uncertainty will be sorted out within the next several months, and installations will pick up again in that time frame. However, in the meantime, this uncertainty has impacted our Grid business. Much of our pipeline in Australia has pushed out at least 6 months. So while the recent election created near-term challenges, we are optimistic it won't change the overall trajectory of the long-term opportunity in Australia.
Moving to our superconductor product line. Power outages continue to plague the United States, bringing attention to the growing need to upgrade the nation's aging grid. Just last month, over 30,000 people in Ohio lost power to severe weather. That same day, the entire Light Rail Metro System in Phoenix, Arizona, ground to a halt due to power fluctuations on a transmission line. Also on that same day, thousands of customers in Chesapeake, Virginia, lost power as a result of equipment failure. And that very same week, the Boston Globe published an editorial urging utilities to improve New England's aging grid.
The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, recognizes the vulnerabilities of our nation's electricity grid, and we are working closely with them. DHS is actively supporting solutions, such as our superconductor resilient electric grid system, to modernize and improve the electrical grid. We believe that we will win an order for our resilient electric grid system within the next 6 quarters.
Also within the next 6 quarters, we believe that we will receive an order for a ship protection degaussing system from the U.S. Navy. The Navy continues to demonstrate its commitment to superconductor solutions. In fact, the Navy has engaged us for development of applications beyond degaussing systems.
To summarize, in the second fiscal quarter, we continue to progress towards our goal of positive net cash flow on a quarterly basis by the end of fiscal year 2014. Our long-term outlook for both the Wind and Grid segments is positive. We have taken action to improve our cost structure and slow our cash burn. We continue to focus on driving revenue growth. We will also continue to responsibly manage our cash position and prudently control our expenses.
As we enter into the second half of the year, we will remain focused on our goals of broadening our customer base, entering new markets, securing key orders for our superconductor product line and helping our existing wind turbine licensees to gain market share. With that, we'll open up the line for your questions. Tracy, if there are questions.