The production of
electricity in the United States is mainly achieved by burning fossil fuels
such as coal and natural gas. It is noteworthy that the demand for electricity
is steadily increasing since the 1980s with no sign of abatement. The increased
demand for electricity is being served by the installation of electricity
generation plants based on fossil fuels. Since fossil fuels produce carbon
dioxide emissions, it would be preferable to enhance the deployment of
electricity production using renewable energy sources such as wind-power and
solar-power. At the recent (May 2011) Doha conference, the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change published a report stating: “It is likely that
renewable energy will have a significantly larger role in the global energy
system in the future than today.”
The renewable energy
sources are considered the most promising options in the near future. According
to the U.S. Department of Energy, offshore wind farms, alone could produce 900
Giga-Watts of power which is sufficient to supply the needs of the entire
United States. According to the European Photovoltaic Industry Association,
solar energy reaching the earth, converted to electricity using solar-farms
could satisfy global energy needs 10,000 times over. Other renewable energy
sources include wave-power, geothermal-power, etc. In the first six months of
2010, 11 percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. came from renewable
energy sources. In March 2011, China released its new five-year plan with goals
of 11.4 percent of energy generated using non-fossil fuels. The IGBT is a
critical technology required for the deployment of all renewable energy
sources.
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