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Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years in some countries for cooking and heating. . Geothermal Energy utilizes heat from the earth for many purposes such as heating buildings, melting snow, and generating electricity, if it is hot enough. The first geothermal power station was built at Landrello, in Italy, and the second was at Wairekei in New Zealand. Others are in Iceland (geothermal heat is used to heat houses as well as for generating electricity), Japan, the Philippines and the United States. In Iceland, geothermal heat is used to heat houses as well as for generating electricity. A town in Iceland is heated this way.
Geothermal energy is an important resource in volcanically active places such as Iceland and New Zealand. Hot rocks underground heat water to produce steam. The steam drives a turbogenerator, or passed through a heat exchanger to heat water to warm houses. Geothermal energy, with refinements in conversion technologies, can take a more prominent role in reducing the threat of global warming. Readily available in many regions throughout the world, this source alone would provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years.
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