Part 3

GEOTHERMAL
POWER PLANT
CASE STUDIES
G Larderello Dry-Steam Power Plants, Tuscany, Italy
G The Geysers Dry-Steam Power Plants, Sonoma and Lake Counties,
California, USA
G Geothermal Power Plants of New Zealand
G Geothermal Power Plants of Indonesia
G Geothermal Power Plants in Central America and the Caribbean
G Geothermal Power Plants in Nevada, USA
G Heber Binary Plants, Imperial Valley, California, USA
G Magmamax Binary Power Plant, East Mesa, Imperial Valley, California, USA
G Nesjavellir and Hellisheidi Plants, Iceland
G Raft River Plants, Idaho, USA
G Geothermal Power Plants in Turkey
G Enhanced Geothermal Systems—Projects and Plants
G Environmental Impact of Geothermal Power Plants

Geothermal electricity, unlike fossil or nuclear, cannot be ordered: it must be

developed, for there is nothing more hazardous than a premature order for
conversion equipment.
Joseph Kestin—July 1979
 320 Geothermal Power Plants

The third part of the book offers case studies of the planning, design, and per-
formance of selected geothermal power plants, chosen to illustrate all of the
traditional energy conversion systems covered in the second part. Included
are plants that have played important historical roles. Some of the cases
show integrated usage of geothermal energy, for heat and power, and for
waste heat conversion to generate added electricity. Many more plants could
have been cited but space limitations have forced us to restrict our selection.
Nevertheless, this edition includes extensive coverage of plants in New
Zealand, Indonesia, Central America, the Caribbean, and the county of
Nevada, which if it were a country would rank eighth in the world in terms
of installed geothermal power. Enhanced Geothermal Systems technology is
highlighted in a separate chapter with several new European plants covered.

Las Pailas 42 MW geothermal plant, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.

Photo by P. Moya—From DiPippo R, Moya P. Las Pailas geothermal binary power
plant, Rincón de la Vieja, Costa Rica: performance assessment of plant and alterna-
tives. Geothermics 2013;48:1 15 [WWW].