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Graphic: Volcano Power: How Energy Is Produced from Hot Rocks

In Iceland

tapping into the Earth's own heat

Volcanoes

hot rocks make an ideal energy source — one that's much cleaner and less expensive than burning fossil fuels

Energy from these hot rocks powers lights in homes and restaurants, and provides the hot water that heats 95 percent of Iceland's homes.

Power plants

channeling free energy from underground

you need to know how to read the geology deep underground in order to tame the power of volcanoes

a world-class geothermal energy business

drilled wells to tap into underground hot water, then built a system of pipes throughout the entire city to circulate this hot water through radiators in homes and offices

it would cost us five times more to heat our homes with oil than it is costing with geothermal

in business to export this technology to other parts of the world

It's good for the climate, since it doesn't involve burning fossil fuels

it could ultimately provide 10 percent of the United States' electricity

Steam from the Krafla power plant billows from behind a mountain.

A manmade crater at Krafla power plant.

A woman swims at Blue Lagoon