Superhot Rock Geothermal in Russia

The document highlights that just 1% of Russia's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 6,704 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's projected 2050 electricity demand of 1,783,308 GWh. While unlikely to meet 2030 climate goals, this technology could theoretically replace all coal and gas in Russia's electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 834 megatonnes of CO2eq. The report emphasizes the technology's low land footprint (12 km² per 1 GW) and its ability to leverage Russia's existing oil and gas subsurface expertise for a zero-carbon transition.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that Russia possesses vast superhot rock geothermal resources; specifically, 1% of this resource could provide 6,704 GW of energy capacity and generate over 55,792,529 GWh of electricity.
• The potential energy from 1% of Russia's superhot rock resources is significantly larger than its current and projected needs, being 48 times the 2021 electricity consumption and enough to meet the projected 2050 demand of 1,783,308 GWh with over 54,009,221 GWh remaining.
• 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 natural gas (160 km²), solar (180 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), or biomass (14,000 km²).
• The transition to superhot rock geothermal could utilize Russia's existing oil and gas sector assets and workforce, as geoscientists, mechanics, and electricians possess transferable subsurface expertise.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Russia. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145051/Russia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Russia. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145051/Russia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Russia |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145051/Russia-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 Russia}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145051/Russia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }