The increasing importance of fuel saving has been responsible for the revival of interest in so-called alternative source of energy. Thus, the drive towards the decentralization of power generation and increasing use of non-conventional energy sources such as wind energy, bio-gas, solar and hydro potential, etc. has become essential to adopt a low cost generating system, which is capable of operating in the remote areas, and in conjunction with the variety of prime movers. With the renewed interest in wind turbines and micro-hydro-generators as an alternative energy source, the induction generators are being considered as an alternative choice to the well-developed synchronous generators because of their lower unit cost, inherent ruggedness, operational and maintenance simplicity. The induction generator's ability to generate power at varying speed facilitates its application in various modes such as self-excited stand-alone (isolated) mode; in parallel with synchronous generator to supplement the local load, and in grid-connected mode. The research has been underway for the last three decades to investigate the various issues related to the use of induction generator as potential alternative to the synchronous generator to utilize the small hydro and wind energy to accomplish the future energy requirement, and to feed the power to remote locations and far flung areas, where extension of grid is economically not feasible. This paper, therefore, reviews the progress made in induction generator particularly, the self-excited induction generator (SEIG) research and development since its inception. Attempts are made to highlight the current and future issues involved in the development of induction generator technology for its large-scale future applications. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
