Geothermal

History of Geothermal Energy

People have used geothermal power for thousands of years. The ancient Romans used geothermal water for medicinal purposes, from bathing in hot springs to treating skin ailments. Native Americans and New Zealand’s Maori people have used the Earth’s hot water for cooking for centuries. In the last 50 years, people have improved the techniques and technology used to harness geothermal power for electricity and heating.

10,000+ years ago – Ancient peoples use hot springs or bathing and heating.

1904 – The first dry steam geothermal power plant was built in Laderello in Tuscany, Italy. The Larderello plant today provides power to about 1 million households.

1922 – The first geothermal power plant in the United States produces 250 kilowatts, capable of lighting area buildings and streets.

1960s – The United States’ first large-scale industrial geothermal energy power plant is built, producing 11 megawatts of geothermal electricity.

1972 – Deep well drilling technology improvements led to deeper reservoir drilling and to access to more resources.

1974 – Scientists begin to develop the first hot dry rock (HDR) reservoir at Fenton Hill, N.M. An HDR power facility was tested at the site in 1978 and started to generate electricity two years later.

1982 – Geothermal (hydrothermal) electric generating capacity reached a new high of 1,000 megawatts.

1991 – The world’s first magma exploratory well was drilled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to a depth of 7,588 feet.

1995 – Worldwide geothermal capacity reaches 6,000 megawatts.

At Empire, Nevada, a food-dehydration facility processes 15 million pounds of dried onions and garlic a year, using geothermal resources.

A DOE low-temperature resource assessment of 10 Western states identifies nearly 9,000 thermal wells and springs and 271 communities with a geothermal resource greater than 50ºC.

2006 – The US geothermal industry becomes a $1.5 billion a year business that involved electricity generation and thermal energy in direct use such as indoor heating, greenhouses, food drying and aquaculture.

2008 – Idaho’s first commercial geothermal power plant begins operating.

Today – Geothermal power is generated in more than 20 countries. While it currently makes up less than 1% of the world’s energy, geothermal power is on the rise, with six new plants going online in the United States in 2009.