AETI Exhibits Its Direct Drive Multi-Pole Permanent Magnet Wind Converters

Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, May 17, 2010 – American Electric Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AETI), the premium supplier of end to end power generation to the grid electrical infrastructure solutions for wind, introduces at the American Wind Energy Association's Windpower Conference & Exposition fo

Houston, TX, UNITED STATES, May 17, 2010 – American Electric Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AETI), the premium supplier of end to end power generation to the grid electrical infrastructure solutions for wind, introduces at the American Wind Energy Association's Windpower Conference & Exposition for the first time, wind converters designed for 500 kW and above community wind turbines using direct drive multi-pole generators.


Community Wind Farms: An Emerging Windpower Market
Despite current economic conditions, the USA market for 100 kW to 1 MW small and community wind turbines continues to grow on average by 30% to 40%, driven by the uncapped 30% investment tax credit for industrial and commercial applications available through December 31, 2016. More than $200 million in external private equity investment has been brought to over 20 small and community wind manufacturers worldwide, about half of which are USA based.

AETI Enters with Build to Print or Build to Spec 500 kW to 3 MW Wind Converters
After delivering power conversion equipment to the world's harshest environments for more than 30 years, AETI has become a leader in delivering custom engineered & packaged wind converters for direct drive wind turbines using multi-pole wound or permanent magnet generators.

By utilizing a flexible power conversion platform with space vector control and high MTBF power output modules, AETI is able to implement 50 or 60 Hz three phase wind power converters that meet IEEE 1547.1 wind power applications. UL based applications are also possible. The high frequency switching of the converter enables IEEE-519 total demand distortion to remain at 3% or below, yet achieve conversion efficiencies greater than 97%. For multi-pole applications, multiple converters are used to connect the generator to the output grid tie inverter for the most flexible and maximum power conversion at the lowest possible cost. Overall system control is achieved through the use of EMI/EMC hardened high-speed programmable logic controllers that integrate the conversion control with a variety of analog, digital and encoder inputs.

AETI's converters are packaged into NEMA 3R configurations that address the turbine OEM's tower or nacelle physical confines and environmental conditions. Liquid cooled sealed enclosures eliminate the need for air filters and their maintenance, greatly reducing servicing of the converter when installed up or down tower. In addition, remote condition monitoring and metering systems can be embedded within the converter for integration with wind farm SCADA systems implemented as a part of a complete preventative maintenance system.

"We are pleased to exhibit one of the first direct drive power converters to the community wind turbine industry,"� said John Skibinski, AETI vice president. "We are currently expanding our wind converter R&D initiatives to address wind converters for the 1 to 3 MW wind turbine aftermarket expected to emerge in 2011, as farms come out of extended warranty with their fleet of turbines."

The company is exhibiting at the AWEA Windpower 2010 Conference & Exposition in Dallas May 23-26 at Booth 9650. Email John Skibinski at John Skibinski or call him at +1 (412) 478-4792 for more information regarding AETI's portfolio of electrical equipment & service solutions.

Press Contact:
John Skibinski
+1 (412) 478-4792
jskibinski@aeti.com

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