Upon penetrating the Earth’s crust, an untapped cache of energy becomes accessible – geothermal energy, which can provide consistent heating and cooling. Bedrock Energy has seized this opportunity to drill wells beyond 500 feet, a considerable improvement over current norms, to make geothermal energy more space-efficient.
Bedrock’s CEO, Joselyn Lai, speaks of the company’s ambitious exploits, aiming to drill up to 1,000-1,200 feet, thus concurrently escalating thermal efficiency and minimizing land consumption. It’s chiefly because of this efficiency that Bedrock narrowed its focus on commercial buildings with typically premium-priced, limited land. The company is also venturing into the realm of data centers and delivered pioneering installations last year in Austin and Utah.
The unique challenge with data centers stems from their unidirectional use of geothermal energy. With servers offering a constant heat generation, data centers would incessantly pump heat into the ground. Nevertheless, Lai affirms that the prospects remain promising, with nuances such as quick-cooling groundwater offering relief.
Moreover, spreading the boreholes out compared to other setups raises cost, but pairing with solar farms can offset this. According to Bedrock’s data, cooling with geothermal energy is twice as efficient as with water and air, particularly during high-heat, humid times – a regular feature in states with data centers.
Another advantage of geothermal energy lies in its consistency. Given that Earth’s temperature remains relatively stable, heat pumps operating with geothermal reservoirs do not have to constantly adjust for air temperature variations. For high-electricity consumers like data centers and offices, this provides financial benefits by avoiding peak demand charges.
Assured of geothermal energy’s potential, Bedrock continues to directly invest in operations and research, focusing on automation for expediting installations. The company recently secured a $12 million Series A investment led by Titanium Ventures to ease this expansion.
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