SAN DIEGO -- Miramar College is planning to save energy and money by using the earth as a giant battery.

10News Reporter Joe Little explained how digging deep into the earth at the Mira Mesa campus could mean more money for education.

A noisy drilling rig is at work on the Miramar College campus drilling holes 400-feet deep in order to find a place to store energy.

Once they find the right spot, crews will install an intricate system of water-filled pipes underground.

Those water pipes will absorb the earth's heat, convert it and store it as energy.

The process is called a ‘geo-exchange,’ and Miramar College aims to be one of the first in the county to tap into its power.

“This is about as green as you can get, using the Earth's energy and natural thermal properties to cool and heat our buildings,” said David Umstot, of the San Diego Community College District.

Once completed, the geo-exchange system will be used to pull heat out of the classroom buildings when it's hot.

When it’s cold, it will pull heat out of the ground that will be used to warm the same buildings.

“So, we're using the constant temperatures of the ground in order to heat and cool with instead of the outdoor ambients,” said Beth Morelli, of Air Connection, Inc.

The $2 million project is part of a larger $380 million expansion project at the college.

The money is coming from propositions approved of by voters in 2002 and 2006.

“You got it. This is our taxpayer money in action,” said Umstot.

While the system is initially expensive to build, Miramar College can expect to save significantly on its future energy bills.

“You can probably expect anywhere from 30- to 60-percent savings on a type of system like this,” said Morrelli.

“Whatever we can do to reduce those costs in the long run, means we spend more money and dollars in the classroom educating students,” said Umstot.