The Department of Justice, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), charged Sinovel Wind Group of stealing American Superconductor Corp.'s (AMSC) turbine controller source code and using it to power four turbines imported to the US. The company and two executives were indicted by the Madison, Wisconsin federal court on June 27.
AMSC was a supplier of Sinovel, the third biggest wind turbine maker in China. According to AMSC, the four 1.5 MW Sinovel units were located in Charlestown, Fairhaven, and Scituate. These three towns are all located in the state of Massachusetts, the same state where AMSC's global headquarters is located.
In relation to this event, AMSC requested the US government to re-evaluate the country's trade relationship with China. The company points out that, over the past two years, over 500 of its staff worldwide lost their jobs as a result of this illegal activity. To compensate for the financial harm done, AMSC has sought more than $1 billion for damages and deliveries.
Throughout all this, however, Sinovel has remained silent. Its spokeswoman, Wang, Wen, who was at the Shanhai stock exchange for filing, did not comment.
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