By 1904 the first attempt was being made at generating electricity from geothermal steam; again, it was to take place at Larderello (Figure 3).
The success of this experiment was a clear indication of the industrial value of geothermal energy and marked the beginning of a form of exploitation that was to develop significantly from then on. Electricity generation at Larderello was a commercial success. By 1942 the installed geothermoelectric capacity had reached 127,650 kWe. Several countries were soon to follow the example set by Italy. In 1919 the first geothermal wells in Japan were drilled at Beppu, followed in 1921 by wells drilled at The Geysers, California, USA. In 1958 a small geothermal power plant began operating in New Zealand, in 1959 another began in Mexico, in 1960 in the USA, followed by many other countries in the years to come.