Since the dawn of the twentieth century, in an effort to provide better living conditions for himself and for his family man has invented and used numerous appliances and life altering devices. He has made his life more comfortable, and his living conditions much easier. Many a life have been saved by some of his inventions, many a people have been fed by one of his ideas and many a smile have been seen because of the satisfaction gained in using one of these energy consuming devices. .
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These devices have changed the way in which we look at the world. They have altered our perception of what is necessary for survival - what we can do or cannot do without. At what cost, however, would men continue to build and improve their ideas? The majority of these devices require power to drive them, and this constant need of power have placed a strain on the amount of non-renewable energy available and also on the environment. A solution must be found that will provide enough energy to drive the turbines that this world operates on and also to curb the environmental catastrophes that seems destine to be our fate.
Man's chief sources of energy for the most part of the twentieth century were that of crude oil, coal and natural gas. These energy sources has provided for man all the energy he needed to fuel his numerous automobiles, to cook his meals, as well as provide cooling and heating to his home. He has found numerous ways to use the energy available; but is there a ready alternative to these energy sources?.
Wind and solar energy are two important non-polluting, renewable resources with great potential for conversion to electric energy these may be used in small-scale applications such as residential/farm/ranch, as well as large-scale (wind/photo-voltaic) farms. Both of these energy sources have a major drawback compared with conventional resources; they are non-dispatchable--wind does not blow and sun does not shine necessarily when electric energy is needed (Nehrir, p18).
