An ITC administrative judge's earlier ruling that Mitsubishi had violated the patents was overturned by the commission. A written opinion explaining its decision is forthcoming.
The battle of the industrial giants over their giant turbine technology comes as the large wind turbine market continues to attract investment.
Early last month the United Technologies Corp. paid more than $206 million for a 49.5-percent stake in Clipper Wind Power of Carpinteria, Calif.
Mitsubishi manufactures components for the wind turbines in Japan and Mexico for machines assembled in the U.S. The Associated Press reports that Mitsubishi is planning to build a $100 million manufacturing facility in western Arkansas in 2011.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is trying to push forward the $1 billion Cape Wind project, which would install 130 440-foot-high towers across 25 square miles of federal water in Nantucket Sound, offshore of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island. The U.S. Department of the Interior is expected to approve the wind farm by March 1.
Bay State Gov. Deval Patrick supports the project, which was largely held up largely due to opposition on Cape Cod including from deceased Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, from whose Hyannisport family compound the towers would be visible.
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