Dry steam power plants draw from underground resources of steam. The steam is piped directly from underground wells to the power plant. Where it is directed into a turbine/generator unit. There are only two known underground resources of steam in the United States. Those two known are The Geysers in northern California and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Flash steam
power plants are the most common. They use geothermal lakes of water with
temperatures greater than 360°F. This very hot water that flows up through
wells in the ground under its own pressure. As it flows upward, the pressure
goes down and some of the hot water boils into steam. The steam is then
separated from the water and used to power a turbine/generator. Any leftover
water and condensed steam are injected back into the big lake.
Small geothermal power plants that are under 5 megawatts have
the ability for widespread application in country areas even as energy
resources. Energy resources refer too many of small modular power-generating
technologies that can be put together to improve the operation of the
electricity delivery system. In the United States most of the geothermal are
located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii.
Sources
·
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-geothermal-energy-works.html#.VGTFNfnF-So