Geothermal Plants

 

As we were driving toward Red Hill Marina, we stopped (of course) to admire the flock of snow geese wintering on the marsh.  Usually, I am awestruck by the birds, but this time it was the giant plumes of steam in the distance that intrigued me.  I counted seven geothermal plants dotting the landscape.

I learned later there are actually ten geothermal plants in this area around the Salton Sea, and they provide enough energy to power over 100,000 homes.  Deep wells are drilled into the earth's crust, allowing the superheated water to come to the surface.  The steam then powers the electrical generators. What's wonderful about this type of power is that it is clean, abundant and renewable.  Those plumes I saw were made of clean, pure water with no fuels burning whatsoever.  No wonder those birds looked so happy!