The Potential for Superhot Rock Energy in Africa

The document explores the potential of superhot rock energy in Africa, highlighting its capacity to provide massive amounts of carbon-free electricity and its potential to drive economic growth and energy access.

• Preliminary modeling by the Clean Air Task Force and the University of Twente indicates that superhot rock energy potential exists across approximately 18% of Africa's land area, which is more than 5.3 million square kilometers, at depths below 12.5 km.
• The scale of Africa's superhot rock resources is immense; just 1% of the resource could provide 12.4 terawatts of energy capacity and generate over 100,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, which is 1.5 times the global electric capacity of 2021.
• Superhot rock energy is highly land-efficient, requiring approximately 12 square kilometers of land to produce 1 GW of energy, significantly less than natural gas (160 km2), solar (180 km2), offshore wind (520 km2), or biomass (14,000 km2).
• While initial costs for first-of-a-kind projects will be higher, mature superhot rock energy resources could be globally competitive with conventional power sources, with estimated prices as low as $25-40 (USD) per MWh for Nth-of-a-kind plants.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2024). The Potential for Superhot Rock Energy in Africa. https://www.catf.us/superhot-rock/heat-mapping/africa-energy/

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. The Potential for Superhot Rock Energy in Africa. 2024. https://www.catf.us/superhot-rock/heat-mapping/africa-energy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=The Potential for Superhot Rock Energy in Africa |date=21 March 2024 |url=https://www.catf.us/superhot-rock/heat-mapping/africa-energy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2024potential, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{The Potential for Superhot Rock Energy in Africa}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.catf.us/superhot-rock/heat-mapping/africa-energy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }