"the concept of an electric-powered generator always makes me chuckle"
Don't laugh too hard, it may be the future of generation by manipulating efficienties. I had the idea in a science class when I was a kid (You know the free energy dream), and recently read a research artical on it being studied now. (Cant find the artical...) But the concept was operating generators as rotating transformers to stabalize load and PF when using wind, solar or wave energy generation instead of invertors.
