Superhot Rock Geothermal in Montana

The document highlights that just 1% of Montana's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 120 GW of energy capacity, significantly exceeding the state's 2023 electricity consumption of 15,505 GWh. It argues that superhot rock geothermal offers a land-efficient, firm power alternative to fossil fuels and other renewables, requiring only 12 sq mi per 1 GW of production.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that Montana possesses substantial superhot rock geothermal resources. Specifically, 1% of this resource has the potential to provide 120 GW of energy capacity, which could generate more than 998,302 GWh of electricity. This amount is 64 times the electricity consumption of Montana in 2023, which was 15,505 GWh.
• Superhot rock geothermal is characterized as an energy-dense resource with significantly lower land requirements than other energy sources. Producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal is estimated to use approximately 12 sq mi of land, whereas natural gas requires 160 sq mi, solar 180 sq mi, offshore wind 520 sq mi, and biomass 14,000 sq mi.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Montana. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150159/Montana-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Montana. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150159/Montana-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Montana |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150159/Montana-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 Montana}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150159/Montana-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }