Continued increase in world population and technology
improvements lead to an augmentation in electricity consumption.
According to EIA (Energy Information Administration) data, from
2000 to 2012, world electricity production increased 6.46%. In general,
electricity is generated by either burning fossil fuels or using
renewable energies. The fact that the fossil fuels are exhaustible
and have huge environmental effects, leads to a worldwide attention
to renewable energies, especially in the last decades. Unfortunately,
economic aspect of renewable energies is still a barrier in a
widespread use. However, the European Union estimated a 55%
share of electricity production by renewable energies in 2050 [1].
Despite all of these, it should be noted that even if the electricity
generation by renewable energies becomes economic, electricity
production by burning fossil fuels in thermal power plants is
unavoidable. This is because most renewable energies are heavily
dependent on external influences, like weather phenomena. But
in thermal power plants the output power could be easily controlled
and changed in very short time frames. Therefore, secured
generation capacity and system operation are the two reasons that
make the usage of thermal power plants unavoidable.