In 1958, New Zealand built a power station over a volcanic field; it became the world's first to generate electricity from geothermal flash steam

• Image Credit: Engineering New ZealandWairākei Power Station in New Zealand changed the way geothermal heat could be turned into electricity when it was commissioned in 1958.
• Built beside the Waikato River, north of Taupō, the station drew on hot underground water beneath an active volcanic zone.