ABSTRACT
In the early 1900s, geothermal fl uids were already being exploited for their energy content. A chemical industry was set up in Italy during that period, in the area known now as Larderello, to extract boric acid from natural hot water outlets or from purposely drilled shallow boreholes. From years 1910 to 1940 the low pressure steam, in that area of Central Tuscany, was utilized to heat industrial and residential buildings and greenhouses. In 1928, Iceland, another pioneer in the utilization of geothermal energy, began exploiting its abundant geothermal resources (mainly hot waters) for domestic heating. The fi rst attempt to generate electricity from geothermal steam dates back to 1904 at Larderello. The success of this experiment proved the industrial value of geothermal energy and marked the beginning of an exploitation route that has been developed signifi cantly since then. Actually, electricity generation at Larderello was a commercial success. By 1942 the installed geothermoelectric capacity had reached 128MWe. This application, exemplifi ed by Italy, was followed by several
countries. In Japan, the fi rst geothermal wells were drilled in 1919 and, in 1929, at The Geysers, California, in the USA. In 1958, a small geothermal power plant started operating in New Zealand, in 1959 in Mexico, in 1960 in the USA, and in many other countries the following years.
