A Provo company is showing the rest of America how to develop new sources of energy: Unleash private companies and let them uncover the wealth lying beneath our feet.

After the discovery of a huge geothermal field 155 miles southwest of Provo, Raser Technologies Inc. has taken only about six months to construct a power plant and get it going. That's because it has figured out how to build plants in a modular fashion, making the process easier and faster. The company has said it will begin delivering electricity to Anaheim, Calif., within weeks.

The power source is hot water a few thousand feet below the surface, circulating inside a zone of porous limestone. The underground "lake" cycles hot water, using the Earth's internal heat to drive turbines. Raser plans to tap it and provide power eventually to as many 200,000 homes.

Raser started buying leases five years ago on hundreds of thousands of acres that had been passed over because of their lower heat potential. Raser, however, has developed a fluid that allows it to use low-temperature water. And, unlike most geothermal plants, in the Raser plant the water can be re-used.

The company holds rights to 78 square miles of land and believes there's potential for further development. Raser and its supplier, UTC Power, plan to build seven geothermal energy plants this year and 10 plants a year for the following decade.

It's a testimony to the power of private business, correctly managed. It's been a bad year for the reputation of many big firms. But that shouldn't obscure the power of free enterprise to get things done.

There's a clamor on the left for government to run more of the economy. But it's hard to imagine a government agency getting such a project done in six years, much less six months.

The company's find underscores the power of taking risks. In the current climate, businesses have (unsurprisingly) grown skittish of sticking their necks out. Raser's success in this venture reminds us that boldness can pay off.

The company has ramped up its planned development from 10 megawatts to 230 megawatts. And the future looks bright: It has applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and expects to begin trading on the Big Board early this year.

The moral of the story? While politicians in Washington are talking about developing more energy resources, private companies are actually doing things. They're developing fresh ideas, working on new technologies, and taking risks as they work toward the future.

And this is just one example. Other companies are taking big strides in developing energy resources, from making solar power viable to developing nuclear power plants the size of a hot tub.

To do such things, however, they have to be free of burdensome taxation and cumbersome regulations. They take big risks, and people won't do that unless they also have a chance of a big payoff.

There's a lot of justified anger over the blunders business has made in recent years. But, as Raser has shown, free enterprise can provide tremendous benefits.

If we let it.