New technology at Dallas Love Field converts jet wind into electricity

DALLAS - Dallas Love Field is home to new technology that’s turning wind from airplanes into renewable energy.  It’s an innovative idea that came from a surgeon and former Dallas Mavericks team doctor.

JetWind Technology 

How it works:

Five new turbine pods at Dallas Love Field are helping to generate renewable energy for the busy airport by capturing wind from jets taking off.

"JetWind is an innovative technology that converts man-made wind produced by planes to electric power for use in airport terminals," said JetWind Power Corporation founder and president T.O. Souryal.

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The backstory:

Souryal got the idea for JetWind years ago while sitting in the window seat of a plane departing from Burbank, California.

"This really did start as a 7th-grade science project 25 years ago," he said.

The Dallas-based orthopedic surgeon said he noticed the aircraft was producing a lot of wind and debris while preparing to take off.

"And I thought, ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be something if we could put something in front of the wall and capture some of this wind,’" he said. "One thing led to another and experiment after experiment. And now we’re here at Love Field."

JetWind Power

Why you should care:

For now, the man-made wind from jet exhaust is being converted into electricity to power two new device-charging stations inside the airport.

Patrick Carreno, Dallas’s director of aviation, said the stations have already charged about 10,000 personal devices.

"As we bring more of these online and they bring on more energy, we’ll look at new ways to integrate that," Carreno said.

The airport will be able to allocate the extra power anywhere it wants to use it.

"These do power I believe the equivalent of 100 homes per year. We’re ultimately going to have 14 of those, so we’re excited about the amount of energy these are creating just off jet blasts from aircraft being used at Dallas Love Field," Carreno said.

What's next:

Dr. Souryal said there’s interest in the technology from more than a dozen airports worldwide, including DFW Airport.

"Right now, we’re small. We’re just starting out," he said.

But in about five years, he hopes to see high-speed turbines installed at the base of the runway where there is a lot more wind, a lot more traffic, and a lot more potential power.