Geothermal energy is not a new idea, Romans used water from hot springs in their public baths. oldest known hot springs were used in the Qin Dynasty in the 3rd century B.C. Geothermal water was also used to heat and cool the buildings in pompeii which is very very similar to how we use geothermal energy today. The heat in pompeii was obtained from under floor systems. Not only romans used geothermal systems to heat and cool evidence shows that Paleo-indians built a settlement around hot springs which provided them hot water for cooking and just a source of heat. France is also home to one of the oldest known geothermal district heating system. The first geothermal power plant was invented by Prince Piero Ginori Conti in 1904 at a dry steam field in Larderello Italy. In 1921 John Grant dug the first well outside of San Francisco which was intended to generate geothermal energy. The first large scale geothermal power plants in the United States began operation in 1960 in Sonoma County California. Today geothermal energy is getting much more popular in America.