Olkaria VI, Kenya: Inside the world's largest single-turbine geothermal plant

• One of the largest geothermal power plants in the world, Olkaria, which is situated in Kenya, is now generating more geothermal power than some of the world's top geothermal producers, including Italy, Japan, and Iceland, by drawing energy from the Earth's core.
• With new geothermal drilling contracts, including one in Aluto-Langano, Ethiopia, KenGen has its sights set on helping other countries that, like Olkaria, are along the East African Great Rift where tectonic plates are moving apart.
• Other than electric power generation, the Olkaria geothermal field has showcased to the world other direct-use applications of geothermal steam, such as balneotherapeutic bathing and supplying energy to flower farms.

Right under our feet is the future of clean, renewable energy.

The temperature of the Earth's core, which is what we're referring to, is approximately 5,200° Celsius (9,392° Fahrenheit), making it about as hot as the sun's surface. If we could harness this heat, we could turn it into a source of unimaginable amounts of renewable energy — if we drill down far enough. However, some of that heat also travels upward through the Earth's thick mantle, to the surface.