Geothermal energy is the means of taking back from the earth a heat source that is naturally occurring and can produce warmth for everything from a walking path to a household bath or even the ability to help make a loaf of bread. While geothermal energy is most dominantly active around volcanic sites (the two largest being in Chile and Argentina) Iceland is surprisingly enough the leading pioneer of Geothermal energy.

In Iceland 25% of the countries energy is produced by geothermal, and in 2011 roughly 84% of primary energy use came from indigenous renewable resources. Thereof 66% was from geothermal. (1) What this means is that Iceland has to have the infrastructure to extract this heat (energy) into electricity, which has lead Iceland to create three geothermal facilities. The first two being used (the Svarsengi & Nesjavellir) to create both electricity and hot water, while the third (the Krafla) only produces electricity (2). With the success of Iceland using geothermal energy it has also lead the United states to start and adapt the use of this renewable energy source.

South of Reno, Nevada lays the largest geothermal resource in the United States, The Steamboat Springs, and according to the Geothermal Energy Association the leading location for geothermal development. At these springs they have installed 385 megawatts of geothermal energy capacity and have also started construction or development stages of another 150 megawatts of geothermal energy. A major benefit that has been found by using this geothermal energy is that it is reliable and has no specific ties to the fluctuating cost of gasoline (2) Thus proving that not only is geothermal effective but it also gives the consumer a more secure form of power and heating resources.

Works Cited:

1) http://www.nea.is/geothermal/

2)http://iceland.vefur.is/iceland_nature/geology_of_iceland/geothermal_heat.htm

3) http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/steamboat-springs-geothermal-field