A veritable flop if one thinks that Italy, as well as having exceptionally suitable geophysical characteristics for the cultivation of this resource, such as the presence of volcanic areas and hydrothermal vents, is also the cradle of geothermal energy. Prehistory Although this resource is increasingly gaining space in the energy horizon of the future, we must not forget that this is one of the first energy resources with which man interacted in the past.
According to a study published by the University of the United Nations, in fact, the history between geothermal energy and Homo sapiens could even date back as far as 14, BC, even though the first archaeological finds that testify to this relationship date back to between 9 and 5 thousand years.
According to archaeologists, the first men used to settle in the vicinity of areas active from the geothermal point of view, not only to enjoy the benefits of the thermal waters, but also for cooking and the use of volcanic products. These first man-geothermal relationships, according to experts, already took place 13, years ago on a Japanese island and 7, years ago on the Asian continent.
While on the Greek islands there is no lack of traces of therapeutic and cosmetic uses and in the Middle East the signs of a connection with rituals and religious beliefs.
The Etruscans and Romans According to some scholars, the real "fathers of the geothermal industry" were the Etruscans. A people that not only used to build most of its settlements and cities at hydrothermal vents, but which even made geothermal energy products - such as alabaster, travertine, iron oxides and mud baths - veritable bartering goods. Pioneers not only in trade but also in crafts, the Etruscans were the first to coat their tools with enamel, using borax, a boron compound available in boraciferous sources, which at high temperature is transformed into an insulating glass and is still used for welds.
The technologies developed by this people were absorbed and perfected by the Romans, for whom every aspect of daily life was interwoven with spas: those used for religious purposes, for socialising, relaxation and treatment or in political life.
And from Agrippa onwards, many powerful men tried to win popular support by building more and more sumptuous as well as affordable spas. At spas the Romans looked after themselves, heard musical performances, kept themselves informed and concluded business. But then, as the Latins said: Balnea, vina, Venus corrumpunt corpora nostra; sed vitam faciunt spas, wine and love corrupt our bodies, but they make life good. It was in , the century in which, thanks to the rapid development of thermodynamics, the discipline that studies the transformations of work into heat and vice versa, that scientists learned to convert steam into mechanical energy with increasing efficiency and thus into electricity with the aid of turbines and generators.
The step towards geothermal energy was really within reach and was not long in coming. The first commercial greenhouse use of geothermal energy is undertaken in Boise, Idaho.
The operation uses a foot well drilled in Today, more than DHEs are in use around the country. Geothermal technology moves east when Professor Carl Nielsen of Ohio State University develops the first ground-source heat pump, for use at his residence. Krocker, an engineer in Portland, Oregon, pioneers the first commercial building use of a groundwater heat pump. The country's first large-scale geothermal electricity-generating plant begins operation.
Pacific Gas and Electric operates the plant, located at The Geysers. The first turbine produces 11 megawatts MW of net power and operates successfully for more than 30 years. Today, 69 generating facilities are in operation at 18 resource sites around the country. The Geothermal Resources Council is formed to encourage development of geothermal resources worldwide.
The Geothermal Steam Act is enacted, which provides the Secretary of the Interior with the authority to lease public lands and other federal lands for geothermal exploration and development in an environmentally sound manner. The Geothermal Energy Association is formed. The association includes U. The U. The Geo-Heat Center is formed. The center, located at the Oregon Institute of Technology, disseminates information to potential users and conducts applied research on using low- to moderate-temperature geothermal resources.
Geological Survey releases the first national geothermal resource estimate and inventory. PURPA encourages the development of independent, nonutility cogeneration and small power projects by requiring electric utilities to interconnect with them. The act results in the development of several water-dominated resources.
Geothermal Food Processors, Inc. The facility generates electricity two years later, in This was the first known commercial use of geothermal energy as a heating system. Within a few years, over homes and 40 businesses were heated through this system.
First geothermal power plant in Larderello, Italy. The first successful geothermal well at The Geysers. The first exploratory wells are drilled by a company named Pioneer Development Company in Imperial Valley, California.
Roman baths are another example of an ancient geothermal application. The first documented geothermal district heating system was developed at Chaudes-Aigues in France in the 14th Century and is still in operation today Lund , As European settlers moved west across North America in the s they also began settling near hot springs in such places as Hot Springs, Arkansas, founded in In the latter half of the Nineteenth Century spas developed around geothermal vents such as hot springs and geysers.
In the establishment of the Hot Lake Hotel near La Grande Oregon incorporated the first large-scale use of energy from hot springs. The first geothermal district heating system in the United States was created in Boise, Idaho, in While many individual buildings used geothermal heating, another district heating system was not constructed in the United States until the Oregon Institute of Technology constructed one in The oil crisis of the s and high fuel costs in this period rejuvenated interest in geothermal district heating in the U.
Nineteen systems went into operation after , most during the s.
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