A demand of energy is rising faster than before with the consequence of rapid economic growth and increasing living standards in many parts of the developing world. When this growing demand is set against the crucial need to limit climate change, the challenges facing the world’s power-generating industries are only too apparent. Power generation is the process of converting some form of energy into electricity. For electric utilities, it is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers. The other processes are electric power transmission and electricity distribution that are normally carried out by the electrical power industry. Electricity is most often generated by electro-mechanical generators, primarily driven by heat engines fueled by chemical combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind. There are many other technologies that can be and are used to generate electricity though, with solar photovoltaic being the most significant alternative currently. The demand for electricity is met in several ways. Large centralized generators have been the primary method thus far. Distributed generation uses a larger number of smaller generators throughout the electricity network. Some use waste heat from industrial processes; others use fuels that would otherwise be wasted, such as landfill gas. Wind and solar generation tend to be distributed because of the low density of the natural energy they collect.
