Under the current centralized generation paradigm, electricity is mainly
produced at large generation facilities, shipped though the transmission and
distribution grids to the end consumers. However, the recent quest for energy
efficiency and reliability and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions led to explore
possibilities to alter the current generation paradigm and increase its overall
performances. In this context, one of the best candidates to complement or even
replace the existing paradigm is distributed generation where electricity is produced
next to its point of use: