Superhot Rock Geothermal in Saudi Arabia

The document highlights that just 1% of Saudi Arabia's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 1,172 GW of energy capacity, far exceeding the country's projected 2050 electricity demand of 499,142 GWh. It argues that this technology could replace all fossil fuels used in the electricity sector, reducing emissions by approximately 250 megatonnes of CO2eq, while requiring significantly less land than solar, wind, or biomass. Additionally, it suggests the sector could leverage existing subsurface expertise from the oil and gas industry and support large-scale desalination.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that 1% of Saudi Arabia's superhot rock geothermal resource has the potential to provide 1,172 GW of energy capacity, generating over 9,756,585 GWh of electricity. This amount is 24 times the country's 2021 electricity consumption and would exceed the projected 2050 electricity demand of 499,142 GWh, leaving over 9,257,443 GWh for other uses like hydrogen production and desalination.
• Superhot rock geothermal could theoretically replace all coal, oil, and gas used for electricity production in Saudi Arabia, which would reduce carbon emissions by approximately 250 megatonnes of CO2eq. This would meet 90% of the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goals, although the technology is unlikely to reach commercial scale by 2030.
• The technology is highly energy-dense with low land requirements; producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal is estimated to require roughly 12 km² of land. This is significantly lower than the requirements for natural gas (160 km²), solar (180 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), and biomass (14,000 km²).
• Superhot rock geothermal could facilitate a transition for the Saudi Arabian oil and gas workforce, as geoscientists, mechanics, and electricians could apply their subsurface expertise and assets to zero-carbon energy production.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in Saudi Arabia. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145101/Saudi-Arabia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in Saudi Arabia. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145101/Saudi-Arabia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in Saudi Arabia |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145101/Saudi-Arabia-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 Saudi Arabia}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145101/Saudi-Arabia-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }