The top 10 biggest geothermal power plants in the world

By Praveen Duddu

Philippines is home to three of the 10 biggest geothermal power plant installations in the world, followed
by the US and Indonesia with two each, and Italy, Mexico and Iceland with one each. Power-
technology.com lists the 10 biggest geothermal power plant installations in the world based on net
capacity.

1. The Geysers Geothermal Complex, California, United States of America

The Geysers Geothermal Complex located about 121km north of San Francisco, California, is comprised
of 18 power plants making it the biggest geothermal installation in the world. The complex has an
installed capacity of 1,517MW and active production capacity of 900MW.

Calpine owns 15 power plants in the complex, with a combined net generating capacity of about 725MW,
while two power plants are jointly owned by Northern California Power Agency and Silicon Valley
Power, plus US Renewables Group, which owns the Bottle Rock Power plant. Ram Power is constructing
a new 26MW geothermal power plant at the complex.

The complex covers an area of approximately 78km². Production from the geothermal field commenced
in 1960 and reached its peak in the 1980s. The turbine suppliers for the power plants in the complex
include Toshiba and Mitsubishi Steam.

2. Larderello Geothermal Complex, Italy

Larderello Geothermal Complex, comprising of 34 plants with a total net capacity of 769MW, is the
second biggest geothermal power plant in the world. The power produced from the geothermal field,
located in Tuscany, Central Italy, accounts for ten percent of all geothermal energy produced worldwide
and caters for 26.5% of regional power needs.

Enel Green Power owns the power plants at the complex serving approximately two million families,
8,700 residential and business customers and 25 hectares of greenhouses. Reservoir depths at the
geothermal field range from 700m to 4,000m below the surface. The first plant at the geothermal field
was commissioned a century ago, in 1913, making it the first of its kind in the world.

The first Larderello power plant had a generating capacity of 250kW comprising of a turbine designed
and built by Tosi Electromechanical Company. The geothermal plants at the field were rebuilt after they
were destroyed during World War II.

3. Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Mexico

At 720MW, Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station in south Mexicali, Baja California in north Mexico,
is the second third geothermal plant in the world.

The power plant, like all other geothermal fields in Mexico, is owned and operated by the Comisión
Federal de Electricidad (CFE). The power station features four plants, comprising of 13 units. The first
plant was commissioned in 1973, while the fourth plant was commissioned in 2000.

The turbines at the complex include four 110MW condensing type, four 110MW double-flash type, four
single-flash of 37.5MW each, four single-flash of 25MW each and one 30MW single-flash. They were
supplied by Toshiba and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. A fifth plant, which will comprise of two 50MW
turbines, is currently under construction.

4. Makban Geothermal Complex, Philippines

Makban Geothermal Power Complex, also known as Makiling-Banahaw Power Plants, is located in the
municipalities of Bay and Calauan in the Laguna province and Santo Tomas, in the Batangas province. It
is the fourth biggest geothermal power facility in the world, with an output capacity of 458MW.

The geothermal power complex is owned by AP Renewables, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz

Power. The complex consists of six power plants comprising of 10 units, including a binary plant with
five 3MW units and one 0.73MW unit.

The complex, covering an area of 700ha, commenced operations in 1979. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
was one of the turbine suppliers for the plants at the complex.

5. CalEnergy Generation’s Salton Sea Geothermal Plants, United States

CalEnergy Generation’s Salton Sea Geothermal Plants include a cluster of 10 generating geothermal
plants in Calipatria, near the Salton Sea in Southern California’s Imperial Valley. With a combined
generating capacity of 340MW, it is the fifth largest geothermal facility in the world.

CalEnergy Generation, the operator of the field, has a 50% interest in the facilities, while the remaining
50% is held by MidAmerican Geothermal. The generated power is supplied to Southern California Edison
Company.

Unit 1 with an output capacity of 10MW was the first to come online in 1982. It was built by a joint
venture comprising of Union Oil Company and Southern California Edison. The 10th field came online in
2000. CalEnergy Generation is currently developing new projects in the area, including the Black Rock
Project, which will consist of three new 50MW geothermal plants.

6. Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, Iceland

Hellisheidi geothermal power plant is a flash steam, combined heat and power plant (CHP) located at
Mount Hengill, approximately 20km east of the capital city of Reykjavik. The plant has a production
capacity of 303MW of electric energy and 400MW of thermal energy.

The sixth largest geothermal power plant is owned by Orkuveita Reykjavikur. It was constructed by
Mannvit Engineering and Verkís Engineering. Power generated from the plant is supplied primarily to the
nearby aluminum refineries.

The power plant was commissioned in five phases from 2006-2011. It covers an area of approximately
13,000m². Six high pressure (HP) turbines for the plant were supplied by Mitsubishi, while a low pressure
(LP) turbine was supplied by Toshiba.

7. Tiwi Geothermal Complex, Philippines

Tiwi Geothermal Complex is located at Tiwi in the province of Albay, about 300km south-east of Manila.
The 289MW (net) complex is the seventh biggest geothermal facility in the world.

The Tiwi complex is owned by Aboitiz Power’s subsidiary AP Renewables. It comprises of three power
plants featuring two units each. Drilling works at the geothermal field commenced in 1972 and the power
plant became operational in 1979.

The project was developed by National Power Corporation and Philippine Geothermal. Mitsui and F.F.
Cruz were the construction contractors. The power plants use Toshiba generator units.

8. Malitbog Geothermal Power Station, Philippines

The 232.5MW Malitbog Geothermal Power Station, located approximately 25km north of Ormoc City in
Leyte Island, is the eighth biggest geothermal power plant in the world.

The plant was earlier owned by Visayas Geothermal Power Company (VGPC), which later transferred the
ownership rights to Philippine National Oil-Energy Development Company (PNOC). The plant is
currently owned by Energy Development Corporation. Power from the field is supplied to the Luzon
Island.

The Malitbog geothermal power plant construction commenced in 1993 and was completed in 1996. It
was built by Sumitomo Corporation and Fuji Electric. The plant features three 77.5MW single-cylinder
double flow condensing turbines supplied by Fiji Electric.

9. Wayang Windu Geothermal Power Plant, Indonesia

Wayang Windu Geothermal Power Plant is located in Pangalengan, approximately 40km south of
Bandung City in the province of West Java. The geothermal plant, with an output capacity of 227MW, is
the ninth biggest in the world.

Magma Nusantara Limited (MNL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Star Energy, operates the field. The
engineering services for the first two units were provided by Aecom. Major contractors involved in the
plant’s construction included Sumitomo Corporation, Fuji Electric and Rekayasa Industri.
The first unit of the power plant started operation in 2000. It is comprised of an 110MW turbine supplied
by Fuji Electric. The second unit, featuring a 117MW turbine, was commissioned in 2009. The third unit,
with a generation capacity of 127MW, is expected to be commissioned in mid-2014.

10. Darajat Power Station, Indonesia

Darajat Power Station is located at Garut in Pasirwangi District, West Java. It is the tenth biggest
geothermal plant in the world, with an installed capacity of 259MW. It is managed by Darajat GPP
Amoseas Indonesia, a subsidiary of Chevron Texaco.

The power station comprises of three plants serving the provinces of Java and Bali. The plants were
commissioned respectively in 1994, 2000 and 2007. Plants II and III share common facilities, including
the steam gathering system.

The latest commissioned plant was built by Thiess Contractors Indonesia in collaboration with
Kanematsu Corporation. It features a turbine supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The turbine
for the second plant was also supplied by MHI. Hyundai Engineering supplied the equipments for the first
two plants.