Superhot Rock Geothermal in India

The document highlights that just 1% of India's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 303 GW of capacity, potentially meeting 43% of the country's projected 2050 electricity demand. It argues that this technology could replace all coal and gas imports for electricity, significantly reduce land use compared to other renewables, and improve urban air quality by replacing fossil fuel combustion.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that 1% of India's superhot rock geothermal resource has the capacity to provide 303 GW of energy, generating over 2,519,231 GWh of electricity. This amount is equivalent to 1.5 billion barrels of oil and could meet 43% of India's projected 2050 electricity demand of 5,800,580 GWh.
• Superhot rock geothermal could enhance India's energy independence by replacing fossil fuel imports. India currently imports 50% of its natural gas and 24% of its coal; 1% of the superhot rock resource could replace all coal and gas imports used for electricity production.
• The technology is highly energy-dense with a low land footprint. Producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal requires approximately 12 km² of land, which is significantly less than the land required for solar (180 km²), natural gas (160 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), or biomass (14,000 km²).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in India. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144817/India-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in India. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144817/India-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in India |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144817/India-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 India}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144817/India-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }