Energy

AET provides a wide variety of testing, investigation, analysis, and consulting services to to support new and existing energy production facilities across the nation.

Our clients include major energy providers, such as oil and gas producers and pipeline companies, electric utilities, ethanol plants, and wind and solar developers.

AET offices are located across the Upper Midwest and Wyoming, near many existing facilities and planned multi-state projects. Our geographic footprint provides clients with a single point of contact for multiple sites in the region.

Upper Midwest Oil and Gas Service Support

AET has significant experience working in the oil and gas market – upstream, midstream, and downstream. We provide the testing, investigation, analysis, and consulting critical to the success of oil and gas project facilities and linear construction projects. Our expertise includes geotechnical engineering and testing, pavement investigations and soil stabilization for access roads, construction materials testing, forensics, and environmental services.

Our offices in Dickinson and Williston, North Dakota are conveniently located to support Upper-Midwestern oil and gas production and storage facilities. North Dakota’s harsh climate brings unique challenges to the energy sector in maintaining oil pads and access roads across the state — we develop lasting solutions for these challenges, in a timely manner.

Our work in the Bakken oil field showcases our knowledge of specialty foundations to support frac sand unloading equipment and large tanks. Our Pavements Group also consults and tests haul roads and structures supporting high-volume, heavy truck traffic and rail loops.

We’ve taken on complex projects — from constructing all-weather access to major oil producer well sites to exploratory borings and construction materials testing on pipelines and nondestructive testing for refineries and gas plant projects.

Groundwater protection on oil well sites with shallow groundwater and drilling waste disposal are two recent challenges confronting oil and gas producers. Our geotechnical and environmental groups collaborate to provide testing on sites intended for oil wells to determine if a spill would impact the groundwater supply, or if a synthetic liner is needed to contain crude oil and saltwater.

We have also worked on saltwater disposal and special waste landfill projects to increase local disposal alternatives, thereby reducing haul distances.

Our Environmental Group also assists with site evaluation, permitting, and emissions testing.

Frac Sand Mining

Our Minnesota and Wisconsin offices support frac sand exploration and mining operations with geotechnical drilling and laboratory testing services. Our track and all-terrain-vehicle-mounted drilling equipment allows for proper soil borings, subsurface sampling for oil contamination, and site evaluation in many hard-to-reach areas.

Our environmental professionals also assist frac sand facilities with air permit preparation, testing, and compliance.

Wind and Solar Renewable Energy Projects

AET provides geotechnical engineering, pre-purchase environmental due diligence, pavement engineering,  construction materials testing and forensic testing on wind turbine and solar projects throughout the Upper Midwest.

Geotechnical investigation is an integral part of wind turbine generator (WTG) foundation design. Dynamic shear modulus is typically determined from shear wave velocity profiles at each WTG foundation, during cone penetrometer testing (CPT) but can be measured with refraction microtremor (ReMi) testing when shallow bedrock or other conditions prevent CPT testing.

AET also provides resistivity testing (Wennar Array) for electrical grounding design and laboratory thermal resistivity testing for buried electrical conduit design.

Our Pavements Group performs condition assessments and nondestructive testing on haul roads that support high-volumes of heavy truck traffic.

Biofuels Facilities

Our Environmental Group has worked with ethanol and research plants on permitting and emissions testing for energy production. AET provides emissions testing services that include the measurement of volumetric airflow, specialized volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants, total hydrocarbon concentrations, particulates, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

We also provide stack testing to determine the emissions and destruction efficiencies of DDGS dryer thermal oxidizers and removal efficiencies of fermentation and process scrubbers. In addition, we offer testing services to determine emissions from DDGS coolers, baghouse, boilers, and various process vents. We also help facility EHS Managers prepare emergency response plans.

For facility expansions and renovations, we provide geotechnical site investigation and construction materials testing. Additional services include forensic evaluation of structures, tank inspections, and resistivity testing.

Electric Power Generation Plants

Whether your power plant uses coal, gas, nuclear, biomass, solar, or wind, the foundation of a power plant must be designed to exacting standards and construction testing must be performed to document that critical design standards are adhered to.

We offer geotechnical subsurface investigations, testing, and analysis for foundation design; ground penetrating radar (GPR) to identify locations of buried utilities; construction materials testing for QA/QC control during construction; observations and testing of welds and bolted connections; as well as forensic concrete testing on existing facilities.

Critical infrastructure like power generation facilities must also meet more stringent and ever increasing environmental requirements. AET environmental professionals assist facility owners with air emissions permitting and compliance and other environmental services.

Electric Power Substation Facilities

Substations pose unique geotechnical challenges. Foundations must be designed for transmission towers, sensitive electrical equipment, and yard areas. AET must consider equipment support, settlement, and frost heave movement tolerances of equipment, and large loads, and over-turning moments on transmission towers. Soil resistivity is important for designing the grounding system.

Our Geotechnical Group provides an array of services for various utility companies and design engineers throughout the Upper Midwest for new substation design and upgrades of existing substations.

Our Construction Services team performs the necessary field observations and testing to ensure design standards and specifications are followed. Our Nondestructive Testing Group performs testing during fabrication and construction.

Electric Power Transmission Project Support

Transmission lines deliver electricity from power plants to substations to businesses and homes. AET works with utility companies and design engineers to support planning and geotechnical exploration programs for new and existing electric power transmission line projects. We also provide construction materials testing and nondestructive testing for new construction projects and facility upgrades.

We have supported projects on corridors that cross varying terrain and both private/public jurisdictions. AET understands the cost efficiencies and responsiveness our clients desire related to exploring site conditions, tower/pole locations, and permitting factors. So AET works with utility companies and design engineers to carefully plan and execute a geotechnical exploration program to assist with the design of critical foundations along the alignment of the transmission lines.

Our Environmental Group also assists with site evaluation, environmental permitting, stormwater management planning, spill prevention control and countermeasure plans, waste management and emissions testing.

We support projects at oil and gas production, storage, and refinery facilities; coal-burning power plants; wind farms and solar gardens; and ethanol plants. We also provide services on linear construction projects for oil and gas pipelines and electric power transmission lines, as well as substation facilities.