Superhot Rock Geothermal in Bolivia

The document highlights that just 1% of Bolivia's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 549 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 10,829 GWh. It argues that this technology could replace coal and gas imports, leverage existing oil and gas subsurface expertise, and require significantly less land than other energy sources.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that Bolivia possesses substantial superhot rock resources; specifically, 1% of this resource could provide 549 GW of energy capacity and generate over 4,564,831 GWh of electricity.
• The potential energy from 1% of Bolivia's superhot rock resource is estimated to be 422 times the nation's electricity consumption in 2021, which was 10,829 GWh.
• Superhot rock geothermal could support Bolivia's low-carbon energy strategy and Paris Agreement goals by theoretically replacing all coal and gas used for electricity production, though it is unlikely to reach commercial scale by 2030.
• The technology offers a path for energy independence by replacing coal imports, which currently come primarily from Peru.
• Superhot rock geothermal is highly land-efficient, requiring approximately 12 km² per 1 GW of production, which is significantly lower than natural gas (160 km²), solar (180 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), and biomass (14,000 km²).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Bolivia. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144554/Bolivia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Bolivia. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144554/Bolivia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Bolivia |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144554/Bolivia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendsuperhot, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Superhot Rock Geothermal in Bolivia}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144554/Bolivia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }