Superhot Rock Geothermal in South Korea

The document highlights that just 1% of South Korea's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 50 GW of capacity, meeting 68% of its 2021 electricity demand and potentially replacing 48% of its coal imports. It argues that this energy-dense, 24/7 renewable source could significantly reduce carbon emissions and land-use requirements compared to other energy technologies.

• Preliminary modeling indicates that 1% of South Korea's superhot rock geothermal resource has the capacity to provide 50 GW of energy, generating over 414,328 GWh of electricity. This amount is equivalent to 68% of the country's electricity consumption in 2021 and 57% of its projected demand for 2050.
• Superhot rock geothermal could significantly impact South Korea's climate goals and energy security. Utilizing 1% of the resource could theoretically reduce carbon emissions by approximately 296 megatonnes, which exceeds 100% of the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal. Additionally, it could replace 48% of South Korea's coal imports, reducing reliance on energy imports which currently account for 90% of consumption.
• The technology is characterized by high energy density and low land-use requirements. Producing 1 GW of superhot rock geothermal energy is estimated to require 12 km² of land, which is substantially lower than the requirements for natural gas (160 km²), solar (180 km²), offshore wind (520 km²), and biomass (14,000 km²).

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Superhot Rock Geothermal in South Korea. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145122/South-Korea-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in South Korea. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145122/South-Korea-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in South Korea |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145122/South-Korea-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 South Korea}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145122/South-Korea-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }