Exhaust gases (28) from an engine (16, 16′), input to turbo-compounder (20), drive a bladed turbine rotor (48) therein, which drives a generator (56, 56.1, 56.1′, 126, 126′, 126″), the output of which is used to electrically drive an induction motor (104, 104′), the rotor (106) of which is mechanically coupled to the engine (16, 16′) so as to provide for recovering power to the engine (16, 16′). The turbo-compounder (20) also incorporates a wastegate valve (36, 36′) to provide for the exhaust gases (28) to bypass the bladed turbine rotor (48). Upon startup the wastegate valve (36, 36′) is opened, and the generator may be decoupled from the engine (16, 16′). The generator (56, 56.1, 56.1′, 126, 126′, 126″) may be coupled to the engine (16, 16′) either by closure of a contactor (110, 110′), engagement of an electrically-controlled clutch (124), or by control of either a solid-state switching (125) or control system or an AC excitation signal (130), when the frequency (fGENERATOR) of the generator (56, 56.1, 56.1′, 126, 126′, 126″) meets or exceeds that (fMOTOR) of the induction motor (104, 104′). Wastegate valve (36, 36′) closure provides for the generator (56, 56.1, 56.1′, 126, 126′, 126″) to recover power from the exhaust gases (28).