ABSTRACT
Induction generators were used from the beginning of the 20th century until they were abandoned and almost disappeared in the 1960s. With the dramatic increase in petroleum prices in the 1970s, the induction generator returned to the scene. With the present high energy costs, rational use and conservation implemented by many processes of heat recovery and other similar forms became important goals. By the end of the 1980s, wider distribution of population over the planet, as improved transportation and communication enabled people to move away from large urban concentrations, and growing concerns with the environment led to demand by many isolated communities for their own power plants. In the 1990s, ideas such as distributed generation began to be discussed more intensively in the media and in research centers. The general consciousness of finite and limited sources of energy on earth and international disputes over the environment, global safety, and the quality of life have created an opportunity for new, more efficient, less polluting power plants with advanced technologies of control, robustness, and modularity.
