Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity	9 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity	Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity Nature of the Business and Operations American Superconductor Corporation (“AMSC” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 1987. The Company is a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, the Company enables manufacturers to field wind turbines through its advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, the Company enables electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through its transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based products. The Company’s wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to its customers. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-Q. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those instructions. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and the financial position at December 31, 2018; however, these results are not necessarily indicative of results which may be expected for the full year. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, and notes thereto, included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, 2018. Liquidity The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and as of December 31, 2018, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $953.2 million. In addition, the Company has experienced recurring negative operating cash flows. At December 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $80.0 million, with no outstanding debt other than ordinary trade payables. Cash provided by operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 was $47.8 million. The current period results include the net gain received from the first and second installments of the Sinovel settlement of $53.7 million in the nine month period ended December 31, 2018. On July 3, 2018, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Suzhou AMSC Superconductor Co. Ltd. (“AMSC China”) and AMSC Austria GMBH (“AMSC Austria”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd. (“Sinovel”). The Settlement Agreement settles the litigation and arbitration proceedings between the Company and Sinovel. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Sinovel agreed to pay AMSC China an aggregate cash amount in Renminbi (“RMB”) equivalent to $57.5 million, consisting of two installments. Sinovel paid the first installment of the RMB equivalent of $32.5 million on July 4, 2018, which was repatriated to the Company during the nine months ended December 31, 2018, and paid the second installment of the RMB equivalent of $25.0 million on December 27, 2018. On February 1, 2018, ASC Devens LLC (the “Seller”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “PSA”) with 64 Jackson, LLC (the “Purchaser”) and Stewart Title Guaranty Company (“Escrow Agent”), to effectuate the sale of certain real property located at 64 Jackson Road, Devens, Massachusetts, including the building that had served as the Company’s headquarters (collectively, the “Property”), in exchange for total consideration of $23.0 million, composed of (i) cash consideration of $17.0 million, and (ii) a $6.0 million subordinated secured commercial promissory note payable to the Company (the “Seller Note”). Subsequently, the Seller, the Purchaser and Jackson 64 MGI, LLC (“Assignee”) entered into an Assignment of Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Assignment Agreement”), pursuant to which the Purchaser assigned all of its rights and interests in the PSA to the Assignee and the Assignee agreed to assume all of the Purchaser’s obligations and liabilities under the PSA. The transaction closed on March 28, 2018, at which time the Company received, from the Assignee, cash consideration, net of certain agreed upon closing costs, of $16.9 million, and the Seller Note at an interest rate of 1.96%. The Seller Note is secured by a subordinated second mortgage on the Property and a subordinated second assignment of leases and rents. In December 2015, the Company entered into a set of strategic agreements valued at approximately $210.0 million with Inox Wind Ltd. (“Inox” or “Inox Wind”), which includes a multi-year supply contract pursuant to which the Company will supply electrical control systems to Inox and a license agreement allowing Inox to manufacture a limited number of electrical control systems. After Inox purchases the specified number of electrical control systems required under the terms of the supply contract, Inox agreed that the Company will continue as Inox’s preferred supplier and Inox will be required to purchase from the Company a majority of its electrical control systems requirements for an additional three-year period. The Company believes that based on the information presented above and its quarterly management assessment, it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations and capital expenditures for the next twelve months following the issuance of the financial statements for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2018. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on its ability to increase revenues, including its ability to collect revenues under its agreements with Inox, its ability to control its operating costs, and its ability to raise additional capital, if necessary. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital, on favorable terms or at all, from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.

Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity

Nature of the Business and Operations

American Superconductor Corporation (“AMSC” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 1987. The Company is a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, the Company enables manufacturers to field wind turbines through its advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, the Company enables electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through its transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based products. The Company’s wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to its customers.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-Q. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those instructions. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 and the financial position at December 31, 2018; however, these results are not necessarily indicative of results which may be expected for the full year. The interim condensed consolidated financial statements, and notes thereto, should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2018, and notes thereto, included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, 2018.

Liquidity

The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and as of December 31, 2018, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $953.2 million. In addition, the Company has experienced recurring negative operating cash flows. At December 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $80.0 million, with no outstanding debt other than ordinary trade payables. Cash provided by operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 was $47.8 million. The current period results include the net gain received from the first and second installments of the Sinovel settlement of $53.7 million in the nine month period ended December 31, 2018.

On July 3, 2018, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Suzhou AMSC Superconductor Co. Ltd. (“AMSC China”) and AMSC Austria GMBH (“AMSC Austria”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd. (“Sinovel”). The Settlement Agreement settles the litigation and arbitration proceedings between the Company and Sinovel. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Sinovel agreed to pay AMSC China an aggregate cash amount in Renminbi (“RMB”) equivalent to $57.5 million, consisting of two installments. Sinovel paid the first installment of the RMB equivalent of $32.5 million on July 4, 2018, which was repatriated to the Company during the nine months ended December 31, 2018, and paid the second installment of the RMB equivalent of $25.0 million on December 27, 2018.

On February 1, 2018, ASC Devens LLC (the “Seller”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “PSA”) with 64 Jackson, LLC (the “Purchaser”) and Stewart Title Guaranty Company (“Escrow Agent”), to effectuate the sale of certain real property located at 64 Jackson Road, Devens, Massachusetts, including the building that had served as the Company’s headquarters (collectively, the “Property”), in exchange for total consideration of $23.0 million, composed of (i) cash consideration of $17.0 million, and (ii) a $6.0 million subordinated secured commercial promissory note payable to the Company (the “Seller Note”). Subsequently, the Seller, the Purchaser and Jackson 64 MGI, LLC (“Assignee”) entered into an Assignment of Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Assignment Agreement”), pursuant to which the Purchaser assigned all of its rights and interests in the PSA to the Assignee and the Assignee agreed to assume all of the Purchaser’s obligations and liabilities under the PSA. The transaction closed on March 28, 2018, at which time the Company received, from the Assignee, cash consideration, net of certain agreed upon closing costs, of $16.9 million, and the Seller Note at an interest rate of 1.96%. The Seller Note is secured by a subordinated second mortgage on the Property and a subordinated second assignment of leases and rents.

In December 2015, the Company entered into a set of strategic agreements valued at approximately $210.0 million with Inox Wind Ltd. (“Inox” or “Inox Wind”), which includes a multi-year supply contract pursuant to which the Company will supply electrical control systems to Inox and a license agreement allowing Inox to manufacture a limited number of electrical control systems. After Inox purchases the specified number of electrical control systems required under the terms of the supply contract, Inox agreed that the Company will continue as Inox’s preferred supplier and Inox will be required to purchase from the Company a majority of its electrical control systems requirements for an additional three-year period.

The Company believes that based on the information presented above and its quarterly management assessment, it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations and capital expenditures for the next twelve months following the issuance of the financial statements for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2018. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on its ability to increase revenues, including its ability to collect revenues under its agreements with Inox, its ability to control its operating costs, and its ability to raise additional capital, if necessary. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital, on favorable terms or at all, from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.