Superhot Rock Geothermal in Iceland

The document highlights that just 1% of Iceland's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 411 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's 2021 electricity consumption of 19,612 GWh. It argues that this technology offers a low land-use footprint and can provide 24/7 firm power, potentially replacing all coal imports used for electricity. Iceland is positioned as a leader in this field through projects like the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) in Reykjanes, the Krafla Magma Testbed, and a planned third IDDP well in Hengill.

• Preliminary modelling indicates that 1% of Iceland's superhot rock geothermal resource has the capacity to provide 411 GW of energy, which could generate over 3,419,621 GWh of electricity. This amount is 174 times the electricity consumption of Iceland in 2021, which was 19,612 GWh.
• Superhot rock geothermal is presented as a highly energy-dense resource with significantly lower land requirements than other energy sources. Producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal is estimated to require approximately 12 km² of land, whereas natural gas requires 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 Iceland. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144812/Iceland-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Iceland. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144812/Iceland-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Iceland |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144812/Iceland-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 Iceland}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144812/Iceland-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }