Superhot Rock Geothermal in New Mexico

The document highlights superhot rock geothermal as a scalable, low-land-footprint energy source that could significantly exceed New Mexico's current electricity needs. It argues that the technology can leverage existing oil and gas expertise to facilitate a just energy transition while helping the state reach its 100% zero-carbon goal by 2045.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that just 1% of New Mexico's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 158 GW of energy capacity, generating over 1,314,692 GWh of electricity. This amount is 46 times the state's 2023 electricity consumption of 28,347 GWh.
• Superhot rock geothermal is characterized as a highly energy-dense resource with significantly lower land requirements than other energy sources. Producing 1 GW requires approximately 12 sq mi of land, whereas solar requires 180 sq mi, natural gas 160 sq mi, offshore wind 520 sq mi, and biomass 14,000 sq mi.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in New Mexico. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150213/New-Mexico-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in New Mexico. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150213/New-Mexico-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in New Mexico |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150213/New-Mexico-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 New Mexico}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22150213/New-Mexico-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }