Superhot Rock Geothermal in Kenya

The document highlights that just 1% of Kenya's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 131 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's projected 2050 electricity demand of 63,694 GWh. It argues that this technology could replace coal imports, reduce land-use footprints compared to other renewables, and leverage Kenya's existing geothermal expertise to foster economic growth and decarbonization.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that Kenya possesses vast superhot rock geothermal resources; specifically, 1% of this resource could provide 131 GW of energy capacity and generate over 1,092,993 GWh of electricity.
• The energy potential from just 1% of Kenya's superhot rock resources is sufficient to meet the nation's projected 2050 electricity demand of 63,694 GWh, leaving over 1,029,299 GWh for other uses like hydrogen production and manufacturing.
• Superhot rock geothermal could significantly improve Kenya's energy independence by replacing all coal imports used for electricity production, which currently come primarily from Mozambique and South Africa.
• Superhot rock geothermal is characterized by high energy density and low land requirements, needing approximately 12 km² per 1 GW, which is substantially less than solar (180 km²), natural gas (160 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), or biomass (14,000 km²).
• While superhot rock geothermal is unlikely to reach commercial scale by 2030, it could support Kenya's long-term low-carbon strategy and its Paris Agreement goal to reduce emissions by 45.8 megatonnes of CO2eq by 2030.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Kenya. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144856/Kenya-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Kenya. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144856/Kenya-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Kenya |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144856/Kenya-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 Kenya}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22144856/Kenya-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }