Hydro, Wave, &Tidal

 Hydropower has existed in the USA for some time, especially in the northwest and eastern USA. Hydro-kinetic power is the latest form of hydropower, but substantial public concern challenges additional application of any form of energy that requires any kind of impoundment of natural waterways. Movement towards wave and tidal power are underway. Wave power offers significant power generation, in that a large amount of energy is constantly flowing through the oceans in waves as the earth rotates. To avoid the public concerns of wave power generation equipment alongside coastal areas, the latest machine concepts are more or less buoyed or tethered to the ocean floor located out near international waters. The challenge with these systems is the ability of the machine to survive the brutal shock of the wavefronts, along with converting the unpredictable cycling of wave motion into electrical energy.

Tidal power may grow the fastest in the USA, as many of the concepts utilize a “wind turbine in the water” principle to generate power much like a wind turbine. Since river water flow is more predictable, and that the river flow is unchanged and non-diverted, politically this form of energy is the most capable of advancing quickly. The challenge the industry faces technically is that water, being an incompressible fluid, is not nearly as either to withstand as wind, and so feathering and braking of tidal power turbine blades is not possible without significant stress and possible destruction of the generation system.
AETI, along with its operations M&I Electric, is one of the few power infrastructure providers able to provide containerized and sealed custom power conversion, distribution and control equipment for the following hydro, wave and tidal power market segments around the world.
  1. Electric Hydropower Utilities
  2. Wave and Tidal Power Farms
AETI works with the hydro, wave and tidal power markets in the following ways:
  • Working directly with mechanical engineers and system integrators to develop and implement techniques and methodologies to convert predictable through random mechanical motion into prime movers for generation of electrical power.
  • Working directly with power generation utility engineers and system integrators to develop and implement custom bundled power distribution, power collection, substations, electrical yards and grid interconnection.
  • Working directly with engineering procurement & construction firms to provide electrical oriented site audits, construction, installation, start-up and commissioning during the build of the power generation system.
  • Working directly with utilities and farm developers to provide site electrical maintenance, testing, auditing, repair and refurbishment services.
 AETI has served the power generation energy industry for over 50 years. We enable utilities and farm owners by providing power delivery equipment for the following types of projects:
  • Hydro, wave and tidal power generation, distribution and control units
  • Power generation, distribution, substation, electrical yard and grid interconnection
 Our products offered for the hydro, wave & tidal projects include:
  • Low voltage permanent magnet generators
  • Low voltage converters
  • Custom generator control units
  • Low voltage power distribution units
  • Electrical monitoring and data collection systems
  • Skidded or containerized medium voltage switchgear & substations
  • Electrical design, construction, installation & commissioning services
  • Site maintenance, test, repair & refurbishment services
  • Complete end to end turnkey bundled equipment and services solutions
Hydro, Wave & Tidal Products
AETI has been a major vendor of medium and low voltage electrical switchgear and control system products for more than 50 years. Our engineering team is able to translate hydropower, wave power and tidal power designs into the optimal mix of power conversion and balance of system equipment, including:
  • Control of hydropower synchronous and wave & tidal direct drive generator systems.
  • 600/690 VAC UL/IEC wave & tidal converters custom applied up to 6MW.
  • Custom electrical and hydraulic systems control units that utilize modular, scalable yet rugged programmable controllers.
  • 600/690 and 4160 VAC UL/IEC power distribution units for integrated power protection and control.
  • Medium Voltage ANSI/IEC switchgear, along with the design of medium voltage collection grid systems.  In addition, we offer compartmentalized bus, remote operated control, reduced arc maintenance mode components and interior arc relaying systems to provide enhanced safety switchgear at far less cost than arc resistant switchgear.
  • Implementation of Backup UPS power systems and energy storage systems.
  • Design and implementation of hydraulic & electrical monitoring and data collection systems.
Hydro, Wave & Tidal Services
AETI has been a leader in providing high and medium voltage electrical system maintenance and testing services to the substation and industrial markets for more than 30 years. Our staff of over 20 technicians has performed a variety of studies, services and refurbishments all around the world, including:
  • Electrical yard and open or containerized substation design & build, along with their predictive and preventative maintenance.
  • Protective relay testing and calibration to ensure relays are setup properly per the engineered settings.
  • Ground grid test which includes ground resistance testing to ensure that the entire installation operates properly and safely.
  • Power system quality analysis and predictive load studies, to ensure total system integrity and the avoidance of the loss of millions in revenue from unplanned power outages.
  • Infrared analysis to ensure equipment connections are tight, and avoid the occurrence of loose connections that can lead to variety of failures at a high cost.
  • Cabling system design, analysis, construction, test and maintenance services.
As a diversified corporation able to leverage engineering and manufacturing in North & South America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, AETI is ready to provide localized solutions for your global platform needs quickly and effectively.