Industries, Hydro Power
Credibility
Hydroelectric assets often run for decades, and the control system is where that long life is won or lost.
Innova Technologies brings deep hydro experience to engineering modern governor and control systems that fit an existing, often decades-old, asset, customized to each plant’s needs and to growing demands in cybersecurity, control functionality, regulatory requirements, and remote operation. We modernize aging governors without forcing a wholesale machine replacement, configuring our systems from the plant’s and the OEM’s documentation, and keeping the control logic open, documented, and maintainable so the plant can adapt as those demands evolve.
We engineer for Francis, Kaplan, and Pelton turbines across run-of-river, storage, and pumped storage facilities. Our systems run on commercial PLC hardware programmed to the IEC 61131-3 standard, so the logic is consistent, fully documented, and maintainable by any qualified engineer, and not tied to any single hardware platform or vendor.
Applications
Digital speed governors for Francis, Kaplan, and Pelton turbines: oil pressure unit (OPU) interface, wicket gate and deflector actuator control, and stable speed regulation in droop and isochronous modes, tuned to each turbine's hydraulic characteristics based on OEM documentation and plant engineering data.
BOG recondenser and compressor control for LNG storage tanks and loading terminals, managing the continuous boil-off generation from LNG storage with automated compressor staging, recondenser pressure management, and emergency vent system interface to minimize LNG losses and maintain safe tank pressures during loading operations.
Combined governor with runner blade angle optimization across head and flow conditions, referencing the turbine's efficiency data.
Servo-hydraulic actuator control for precise wicket gate positioning and emergency closure sequencing; for Kaplan turbines, coordinated runner blade pitch with wicket gate position.
Automatic generation control (AGC) interface for grid dispatch signals, translating MW dispatch into wicket gate commands while maintaining stable penstock hydraulics during rapid load changes.
Oil pressure, accumulator, cooler, and filter monitoring and protective shutdown for turbine servo systems.
Reversible pump-turbine sequencing covering full turbine-to-pump and pump-to-turbine mode transitions, generator/motor switching coordination, speed reversal management, and grid synchronization in both modes.
Integration with static and brushless AVR/exciter systems for reactive power and terminal voltage control, supporting OEM and third-party excitation platforms.
Intake gate and penstock isolation valve control integrated with turbine governor and protection logic for safe isolation, emergency closure, and coordinated startup.
Hydro turbines can start and synchronize without external power; Innova has designed and commissioned hydro black start control systems that restart a local grid section after a blackout.
Needle valve and deflector control for Pelton turbines, including overspeed protection via rapid deflector insertion and multi-jet coordination.
Hydro turbines can start and synchronize without external power; Innova has designed and commissioned hydro black start control systems that restart a local grid section after a blackout.
Where We Work
Why Innova
Full-Function FAT
Hydro
Maintains a target head-water level by adjusting unit demand as measured level moves above or below the operator-selected setpoint. This strategy is useful when reservoir or forebay level is the primary operating objective and multiple generating units need to respond in a coordinated way.
Adds a feed-forward response to standard head-water level control by using the rate of level change and upstream measurements to anticipate incoming water before it reaches the plant. Operators would use this approach where upstream flow changes are measurable in advance, and earlier unit response can reduce level excursions.
Uses head-water level error to establish a flow target, then coordinates individual units to meet that required flow. This approach is useful when operators need to maintain water level while also managing how total flow is distributed across the generating units that are online.
Coordinates operation between generation and pumping modes, adjusting flow or pump demand according to the selected mode and operating conditions. It is suited to pumped-storage facilities that need controlled transitions between producing power and moving water back to storage for later generation.
Regulates downstream release by using upstream flow information, travel-time prediction, and level-based trimming to determine the required re-regulation flow. This strategy is useful when matching river flow is a higher priority than holding a fixed reservoir level, while still allowing level control to influence the response and support smooth transitions between operating modes.
Trusted Worldwide
Innova Technologies has delivered digital governor and control systems for hydroelectric facilities across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and international markets. Offices in New Orleans (HQ), Houston, the UK, and the UAE, with 24/7 technical support.
Independent control for every turbine class.
Anti-surge, loadshare, performance, and capacity control.
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Single-source
A MESSAGE FROM JOHN KAZOUR, CEO
To our customers and partners,
For more than 50 years, our team has helped customers keep critical operations running. We built our reputation as Petrotech by taking responsibility for control systems on important rotating machinery.
As more industries came to us with similar challenges across power generation, compression, and hydro applications, our engineering team kept finding ways to solve them. Eventually, the business outgrew the Petrotech name.
We are entering our next chapter as Innova Technologies. The new name reflects the full scope of our work as a rotating machinery control systems specialist. We engineer controls around the machine, deliver complete projects from design through commissioning, and provide support that stays with the problem until it is solved.
Our name is changing, but the people, engineering experience, and commitment behind the work continue. Our responsibility to active projects and installed systems carries forward under the Innova Technologies name. Your current contacts remain the right place to start, and we will communicate directly if an administrative record requires an update.
We appreciate the trust you have placed in us over the decades, and we look forward to continuing that work as Innova Technologies.
CEO, Innova Technologies
