Superhot Rock Geothermal in Ethiopia

The document highlights that just 1% of Ethiopia's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 1657 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's projected 2050 electricity demand of 149,316 GWh. While not expected to reach commercial scale by 2030, the technology is presented as a high-density, firm power source that could reduce energy poverty, create jobs, and support net-zero goals by 2050.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that Ethiopia possesses vast superhot rock resources; specifically, 1% of this resource could provide 1657 GW of energy capacity, generating over 13,790,217 GWh of electricity.
• The potential energy from 1% of Ethiopia's superhot rock resources is significantly larger than its projected 2050 electricity demand of 149,316 GWh, leaving over 13,640,901 GWh for other uses like hydrogen production, desalination, or exports.
• Superhot rock geothermal is characterized by extremely low land-use requirements compared to other energy sources, requiring approximately 12 km² per 1 GW of production, whereas solar requires 180 km² and offshore wind requires 520 km².
• Although superhot rock geothermal is unlikely to be commercially available in time to meet Ethiopia's 2030 emissions reduction goal of 277.7 megatonnes of CO2eq, it is viewed as a tool for achieving the country's 2050 net zero target.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Ethiopia. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144727/Ethiopia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Ethiopia. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144727/Ethiopia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Ethiopia |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144727/Ethiopia-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 Ethiopia}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144727/Ethiopia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }