Superhot Rock Geothermal in the United Kingdom

The document highlights that just 1% of the UK's superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 6 GW of capacity, meeting 17% of the country's 2023 electricity demand. This resource could potentially replace all coal and oil and 33% of the gas used for 2021 electricity production, reducing emissions by approximately 25 megatonnes of CO2eq. Additionally, it could replace 15% of the UK's gas imports and requires significantly less land (12 km² per 1 GW) than other energy sources like solar or wind.

• Preliminary modelling indicates that 1% of the United Kingdom's superhot rock geothermal resource has the capacity to provide 6 GW of energy, generating over 49,017 GWh of electricity, which equals 17% of the UK's 2023 electricity consumption.
• Superhot rock geothermal could improve UK energy security by replacing 15% of the country's natural gas imports, which currently account for 45% of its net imports.
• Superhot rock geothermal is highly energy-dense, requiring approximately 12 km² of land to produce 1 GW, which is significantly lower than the land 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 the United Kingdom. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145228/United-Kingdom-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Superhot Rock Geothermal in the United Kingdom. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145228/United-Kingdom-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Superhot Rock Geothermal in the United Kingdom |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145228/United-Kingdom-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 the United Kingdom}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/22145228/United-Kingdom-SHR-Regional-Assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }