The article discusses the potential of deeper geothermal drilling as an efficient energy source for heating and cooling homes, offices, and data centers. Bedrock Energy, co-founded by Joselyn Lai, is pioneering drilling techniques that reach depths of 800 to 1,200 feet to minimize land use. Unlike traditional geothermal wells that typically stop at around 500 feet, these deeper wells allow for more space-efficient installations, especially in urban environments. Bedrock has successfully completed installations and is exploring geothermal cooling in data centers, though they face challenges due to constant heat generation. Overall, the future of geothermal energy appears promising with deeper drilling capabilities.
"It's pretty shallow, and you're going to need two or three times the amount of space if you only go to those depths," Joselyn Lai, co-founder and CEO of Bedrock Energy, told TechCrunch.
"In a cooling dominant location that can very well be 800 to 1,000 feet, which is three times more space efficient. And in a heating dominant location, that can very well be 1,000 to 1,200 feet or even more, which is two times more space efficient," Lai said.
One of the main challenges is that data centers are one-way users of geothermal energy. Since servers generate heat 24/7, data centers would be dumping heat into the ground year round.
Still, it's looking promising, Lai said. What's underground can make a difference: fast flowing ground water, for example, can cool things off more quickly.
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