THERMO

Some of you may be aware that I have obsessed about the mythical ghost town Thermo for some time. Others of you may know that last spring Adam and I finally managed to find Thermo, which actually only consists of a small hot spring. Even less of you may have heard that when we were about 1/4 mile from our destination we saw a large well lit facility with people walking around in the middle of the night.

Well tonight we went back to Thermo. this time the facility had grown, and there were two well lit areas. when we approached, a security truck pulled up along side the road. We continued on to Thermo and had a look around. This time nobody went for a dip. After we had our fill of Thermo and its wafting sulfurous fumes, we began our return journey. Again, as we approached the facility, the security truck pulled up to the road. This time, we stopped next to it. We learned that our assumptions about the facility had been correct. It was a massive geothermal power plant, tapping into the steam underground. It was really interesting, I wonder if they give tours during the day. I guess the energy they produce there is used to help power the city of Anaheim. I guess it has the potential to produce power for up to 33,000 people. Who would have thought that the stinking bubbling springs that Dominguez and Escalante stumbled upon 200+ years ago would power 9,000 homes in California? Mind blowing. I know I make fun of science a lot, but it was really fascinating.

Upon arriving home I searched for the plant on the internet.

http://www.rasertech.com/media/movies/html/geothermal_groundbreaking.html

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700224550,00.html

This sort of explains the technology behind it.