There are geothermal power plants all over the world, but a group of ten stand out as seriously powerful producers. Read on to learn of the largest geothermal energy plants on Earth.
10. Darajat Power Station, Indonesia
The tenth largest geothermal plant in the world is located in the Pasirwangi District of Garut in Indonesia.
It is comprised of three plants that were created separately between 1994 and 2007.
This plant has a capacity of 259MW, which produces about 50% more power than the Sir Adam Beck pump generating hydroelectric station at Niagara Falls.
Indonesia has a particularly active volcanic geology, and geothermal is increasingly popular in all corners of the country.
9. Wayang Windu Geothermal Power Plant, Indonesia
The ninth largest plant is also located in Indonesia, in the province of West Java.
It is operated by a subsidiary of Star Energy, and was designed and constructed by Aecom, Sumitomo Corporation, & Fuji Electric.
It has an output capacity of 227 MW, but spans a larger area than the Darajat station.
Altogether, the geothermal field at Wayang Windu covers 40sq. km.
8. Malitbog Geothermal Power Station, Philippines
With an output capacity of 232.5MW, this power station in the Philippines is the eighth largest in the world.
This plant is owned by the Energy Development Corporation and it supplies Luzon island with energy.
It has been operating since 199, and has an expected lifespan of at least 30 more years.
It is actually the largest single roof geothermal power plant in the world, and is situated in an area that many people would call paradise.
7. Tiwi Geothermal Complex, Philippines
More than ¼ of the Philippines’ power comes from geothermal plants.
The seventh biggest geothermal plant is located in the Philippine province of Albay.
It comprises three power plants of two units each, and provides a net capacity of 289 MW.
This plant has been operational since 1979, and is among the oldest functional geothermal plants in the world.
6. Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland
Iceland is riddled with hot springs, and many homes outside the capital, Reykjavik, have secondary, private, geothermal generators.
With a production capacity of 400MW thermal energy and 303MW electric energy, the sixth largest geothermal plant is located on Hengill volcano in Iceland.
It’s the largest power plant in Iceland and rests, mostly, above the plate boundary between the North American and European tectonic plates.
5. CalEnergy Generation’s Salton Sea Geothermal Plants, USA
Ten geothermal plants clustered together comprise this large plant, located in southern California.
With a total output of 340MW, this series of plants makes up the fifth largest geothermal energy producer on Earth.
Experts say this area has more geothermal potential than any other in the United States, and the plant is actually helping combat soil erosion and the spread of toxic levels of salt across the region.
4. Makban Geothermal Complex, Philippines
The fourth largest geothermal plant, with an output capacity of 458 MW, is the Makban Geothermal Power Complex.
Six plants make up this complex, located in both the Laguna province and Batangas province.
The Philippines possesses an excellent geothermal infrastructure, but would need to increase geothermal production by a few hundred thousand to meet 100% sustainability.
3. Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Mexico
Located in North Mexico, the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Plant is the third largest in the world, with an output of 720 MW.
This plant, as with every Mexican power plant, is owned by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad.
The plant is built on a somewhat unique point of geology, a spreading fault line in a landlocked area. The phenomenon is normally found only on the ocean floor.
2. Larderello Geothermal Complex, Italy
The second largest plant in the world is the massive Larderello Complex, which is comprised of 34 plants.
The net capacity of this geothermal facility is 769 MW.
The first plant was constructed in 1913, making it the oldest of its kind.
This complex is responsible for 10% of all geothermal energy that is produced worldwide, and is utilized for almost 27% of the power demands of the region.
1. The Geysers Geothermal Complex, USA
This large complex, located about 100km north of San Francisco, California, is made up of 18 power plants, offering an active production capacity of 900MW.
It’s huge, spread across 45 square miles, and generates enough energy to power almost 1 million homes.
Your home can be a geothermal power plant too. Sort of.
It will save you money and help dramatically reduce your environmental footprint!
