The C. W. Moore home in Boise, constructed in 1883, was the first residence in the world known be heated with direct geothermal energy.
Image Credit: Dept. of Energy
Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill. opened with an HVAC system that was advanced for its time. For its centennial, it received a new geothermal system.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Geothermal plants are reliable and durable. This one opened in Indonesia in 1983, and like every plant built around the world in the last 100 years, is still operating.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Lumi
An aerial view of the Sonoma, Calif. Calpine geothermal plant -- part of the world's largest system of geothermal plants. It stretches over 45 square miles (117 square kilometers).
Image Credit: AP Photo/Calpine
Inside the Sonoma plant, steam at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 Celsius) rises up from the earth to drive this turbine and generate electricity.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Eric Risberg
In Klamath Falls, Ore., the sidewalks don't freeze over because they're kept warm by geothermal energy.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Barnard
Greenhouse workers Elida Aguirre (left) and Dulce Gonzalez tend red fir seedlings at at IFA Nurseries in Klamath Falls, Ore., a facility heated by geothermal energy.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Barnard
Board operator Randy Teeples regulates the steam pressure that produces electricity at the Puna Geothermal plant in Hawaii.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Tim Wright
The geothermal system at the home of Dr. Philip Krueger in Boise, Idaho (shown here in 2005) runs hot water from the ground, into the house and then out into a 24-person hot tub.
Image Credit: AP Photo/Matt Cilley
Here's another device in a home that's taking advantage of geothermal energy. Seen here is a geothermal pump and meter assemblies in the technical room of the "Effizienzhaus Plus,“ an energy-efficient house that's part of a German energy project headed by the country's Ministry for Traffic, Construction and Urban Development.
Image Credit: Getty Images
Here we see a sprawling geothermal energy plant in California that taps underground heat from deep beneath the southern San Andreas Fault rift zone. The state is a key user of geothermal energy.
Image Credit: Getty Images
A geothermal plant pipeline carries steam to a turbine power plant below, where carbon- and pollution-free electrical energy will be generated. The Geyserville, Calif. geothermal facility supplies almost 30 percent of California's green-source energy.
Image Credit: Getty Images
Geothermal energy is being tapped in many places around the globe, including here in Kamchatka, Russia.
Image Credit: Getty Images
This flash-steam plant in the Imperial Valley of California uses geothermal technology that has helped hot-water plants become a predominant source of geothermal power.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Warren Gretz
The Geysers, a large group of geothermal plants in northern California, is one of the world's largest producers of geothermal power. The dry-steam field has generated power since the early 1960s, when Pacific Gas & Electric installed the first 11-megawatt plant. In modern times, almost 2000 megawatts are supplied by the Geysers, which is enough energy to supply electricity to San Francisco and Oakland, Calif.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Pacific Gas & Electric
Here we see the Mammoth geothermal plant, in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. It's a good example of how friendly geothermal power is to the environment. It has three air-cooled binary units that generate 28 megawatts of electricity, all the while releasing essentially no emissions into the atmosphere or onto the land surface.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Geothermal Resources Council
Geothermal energy doesn't just fall into our laps, of course. Here's a well head at a possible enhanced geothermal system site in Desert Peak, Nev. We'll check out some geothermal gear closer to home in the next picture.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Nicole Reed
There's a great deal of non-electric geothermal use worldwide -- including geothermal heat pumps. Shown here is the installation of a residential heat exchanger in Klamath Falls, Ore.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - John W. Lund, Geo-Heat Center
Another non-electric use of geothermal energy involves agriculture. These organic, hydroponic tomatoes are grown using geothermal wells to both heat the greenhouse where the tomatoes live and water the produce itself.
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Warren Gretz
We finish our gallery with, fittingly, an early evening shot of a geothermal power plant in Imperial Valley, Calif. When the sun goes down and people need heat, geothermal energy is an environmentally friendly way to help supply the power.
Now that you've seen our Geothermal Energy Pictures, check out our list of 5 Future Fossil Energy Technologies!
Image Credit: Courtesy of DOE/NREL, Credit - Geothermal Resources Council
Comments ( )