
Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures/National Geographic Creative
Iceland’s Svartsengi (“Black Meadow”) geothermal power plant, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, was the first geothermal plant designed to both create electricity and provide hot water for district heating. With six different plants, it generates 75 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply 25,000 homes. Its “waste” hot water is piped to the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa, visited by 400,000 guests annually.