Superhot Rock Geothermal in Greece

The document highlights that just 1% of Greece's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 48 GW of energy capacity, generating over 402,489 GWh of electricity. This amount is seven times the country's 2021 electricity consumption and could theoretically replace all coal and gas used for electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 19 megatonnes of CO2eq. The report emphasizes the technology's low land footprint—requiring roughly 12 km² per 1 GW—and its ability to enhance energy security by reducing dependence on imports of coal, natural gas, and electricity.

• Preliminary modelling by the Clean Air Task Force and the University of Twente indicates that 1% of Greece's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 48 GW of energy capacity, which is capable of generating more than 402,489 GWh of electricity. This potential is equivalent to 237 million barrels of oil or seven times the electricity consumption of Greece in 2021.
• Utilizing 1% of the superhot rock geothermal potential could theoretically eliminate the use of coal and gas in Greece's electricity production, resulting in a reduction of carbon emissions by about 19 megatonnes of CO2eq. This would represent 41% of Greece's share of the EU's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal, although the technology is not expected to reach commercial scale by 2030.
• Superhot rock geothermal could significantly improve Greece's energy independence by replacing all electricity imports (currently 14%), all natural gas imports, and 10% of coal imports used for power generation.
• The technology is highly energy-dense with a very low land-use requirement. Producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal energy is estimated to use approximately 12 km² of land, which is significantly less than the land required for natural gas (160 km²), solar (180 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), or biomass (14,000 km²).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Greece. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144742/Greece-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Greece. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144742/Greece-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Greece |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144742/Greece-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 Greece}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144742/Greece-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }