Geothermal Power Plants
. Geothermal Energy Plant Geothermal energy plants generate electricity and heat by harnessing the heat energy contained within the earth. The earth transfers its energy to deep-lying circulating water, which the plants access with wells and pumps. Geothermal energy is attractive because it creates almost no environmental pollution. However, the number of sites where geothermal energy can be economically extracted is limited. Geothermal reservoirs within about 5 km (about 3 mi) of Earth’s surface can be reached by drilling a well. The hot water or steam from wells can be used to turn turbine generators to produce electricity. A power plant that uses this natural source of hot water or steam is called a geothermal power plant. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were some 380 geothermal power plants in 22 countries around the world with a combined installed capacity of about 8,000 megawatts. Geothermal energy provided 1.6 percent of the world’s total electricity, serving the ele...