Individual power plants can be as small as 100 kW or as
large as 100 MW. The technology is suitable for rural electric
mini-grids, as well as national grid applications. The heat from
geothermal energy can also be utilized directly. Geothermal
fluids can be used for such purposes as heating buildings,
growing plants in greenhouses, dehydrating onions and garlic,
heating water for fish farming, and pasteurizing milk.
Generally, low-to-medium temperature resources (between
21°C and 149°C) are used. Another technology, geothermal
heat pumps, can provide space heating and cooling. This
technology does not require a hydrothermal (hot water)
resource, but instead uses the near-surface ground as a heat