The Clean, Cheap, 24x7 Energy You Don’t Have to Wait For
Our Investment in Dig Energy
Imagine a world where every building taps into the steady heat beneath our feet—no emissions, no grid stress, no intermittent hiccups. Just quiet, constant, affordable comfort.
The Energy Race Is On
Energy is existential. We’re going to need a lot more of it, and we’ll need to use it much more efficiently. Cheaper, cleaner, healthier, and more resilient energy is not just a preference, it’s a prerequisite for prosperity in the 21st century.
No single technology is going to save us. But some are a hell of a lot better than others.
We’ll need many tools in the kit. The ones here today, intermittent renewables (including solar and wind and batteries) and fossil fuels will be a big part of the story for decades to come, despite their inherent tradeoffs. In the long-term, non-intermittent renewables (including nuclear and enhanced geothermal) should lead us to the ultimate energy abundance stage. But while these "forever" solutions are still gearing up, the world isn’t slowing down. As John Maynard Keynes said: “In the long run, we are all dead.”
That’s why we got especially excited to find a solution that is:
Non-intermittent (works all day, all year)
Widely deployable now
Cost-effective and scalable
Clean and geopolitics-proof
You’ve probably walked over it a thousand times and never noticed: Shallow Geothermal
Quick Sidebar: Geothermal 101
Let’s clear up a common confusion: there are two kinds of geothermal.
Deep Geothermal / geothermal power plants—very deep wells that tap into hot rock to generate electricity (Companies like Quaise Energy are working on this.)
Shallow Geothermal / ground source heat pumps (GHPs/GSHPs)—shallow systems that use stable underground temperatures (~50–60°F) to heat and cool buildings.
This post is about #2: ground source heat pumps, or GHPs/GHSPs. These systems circulate water through loops buried a few hundred feet underground, then use a heat pump to exchange that temperature with the building above. In winter, it pulls heat in. In summer, it pushes heat out. It’s like giving your building a direct line to use the Earth as a battery.
Because the ground is always temperate, the system doesn’t have to work as hard. The result: huge efficiency gains. A typical geothermal heat pump has a coefficient of performance (COP) of 4—which means you get 4 units of heating/cooling for every 1 unit of electricity used.
In plain terms: it's 3–5x more efficient than gas or conventional A/C. And it works anywhere, 24/7, all year.
Why It Matters
Heating and cooling buildings accounts for 35% of all energy consumption, the largest share attributable to any end use. And that’s before factoring in new loads from AI datacenters, rising temperatures, and electrification.
Today, we heat buildings with boilers and furnaces (powered by propane oil or gas), cool them with A/Cs, or do both with air source heat pumps. Geothermal heat pumps remain a negligible part of the mix.
Annual US HVAC Shipments:
If we could do most space heating and cooling with geothermal, we’d:
Free up power for other critical needs
Reduce grid demand during peak hours given its “thermal battery” nature
Make our energy supply and the grid more resilient
Cut emissions massively
Improve indoor air quality
But… there’s been a Catch: Drilling Costs
Until now, installing geothermal systems has been a headache. Drilling is expensive, and disruptive—especially in urban or commercial settings. That’s why geothermal heat pumps remain a tiny share of the market, despite their obvious benefits.
Enter Dig Energy.
Dig is a company we’re thrilled to back. They’ve developed a proprietary, patent-protected drilling system that changes the entire equation. Dig’s innovation is a deceptively simple new water-jet drilling system that replaces large, expensive rigs with a smaller, cheaper, faster, cleaner approach. It reduces installation costs by 80% and footprint by 90%.
For example, an 80,000 sq ft grocery store in the Northeast would see:
Millions in lifetime energy savings
A 2-year payback period
Excellent ROI (even without incentives, economics remain compelling)
This is no longer a science project. It’s real. The Dig team - led by Dulcie and Thomas - built and tested the first system in their backyard and are now advancing rapidly to roll out with commercial partners.
Incentives and Policy: Helpful, But Not Required
Geothermal heat pumps have had a tough time fitting cleanly into legacy tax credit structures, caught between political winds focused on wind and solar. However, credits 45X and 48C (Advanced Manufacturing and Energy Project credits) still offer up to 40% rebates. Perhaps more importantly, Dig’s cost savings often eclipse the benefit of previous credits anyway.
Translation: even if incentives vanish tomorrow, the economics still work.
Of course, smart policy would accelerate adoption. But this tech doesn’t require political tailwinds to succeed.
However, an agenda of American energy dominance should incentivize rapid adoption of GSHPs. Why? Because GSHPs can allow us to deliver more electricity without growing the grid. Given the pressing demands to win the AI race and reshore critical industries, we must find solutions today. Grid components are backlogged – compressors for gas turbines to power the grid, transformers, and other equipment is sold out for years – and no matter how much we streamline permitting process, it still takes time to figure out how and where to lay cables and site electric equipment across the country.
GSHPs are thermal batteries. They allow utilities to load balance and peak shave, two key concepts in managing the grid for maximum utilization. The electric grid is the biggest industrial asset and the cornerstone of energy abundance – we can no longer afford to devote billions to deliver for short-lived peaks.
Oak Ridge National Lab found that installing geothermal heat pumps in 70% of U.S. buildings could reduce the need for new long-distance transmission by 33%. That is 25k miles and billions of dollars. Let that sink in: we can meet rising demand without growing the grid.
So Who Benefits? Everyone
Building owners get massive energy savings, better indoor air, and higher resilience
Utilities get load balancing, peak shaving, and less grid expansion pressure
The country gets an energy advantage that unlocks value and isn’t dependent on foreign supply chains
The world (when deployed globally) gets access to an otherwise untapped free, clean, abundant energy source
Geothermal’s Moment Is Now
We are in a global energy arms race. We need more power, smarter grids, lower emissions, and less dependency on fragile infrastructure. Dig’s breakthrough makes geothermal heating and cooling not only viable, but inevitable.
It’s the rare technology that checks every box:
Cheap (better economics, even without subsidies)
Ready now
Non-intermittent (24x7)
Clean
Resilient to natural disasters, geopolitics, or supply chain shocks
Relieves rather than pressures the grid
Healthy (indoor air quality and no carbon monoxide)
