In a recent Dallas Love Field Environmental Advisory Committee meeting, much of the discussion centered around aircraft noise, but city officials buried the lede. The last slide in a 22-page PowerPoint announced a partnership with JetWind Power Corp.
The Dallas-based company offers “revolutionary technology that captures and converts manmade wind generated from aircraft into clean and sustainable energy.”
Residents who live near Love Field have been outspoken about aircraft noise, but they appeared enthusiastic about the JetWind partnership — which officials assure us won’t create any additional noise.
JetWind Power Corporation
Interim Environmental Manager Isaac Ellison said the aviation staff was approached over a year ago by a renowned sports medicine doctor who “had this idea one day when he flew into Love Field.”
“He saw the aircraft kind of pushing back,” Ellison said. “He was wondering what would happen if this energy could be harnessed some other way. It converts propulsion into sustainable energy. What’s generally happening is this energy-capturing pod uses the propellers as motors. The aircraft, when it pushes back and taxis out, that propulsion will turn into propellers. The propellers are directly linked to batteries.”
That power can be added to the energy grid, Ellison added.
“Somewhere in the terminal there would be like a kiosk and you could go charge your cell phone, then look out the window and see that’s where [the power is] coming from,” he said.
We reached out to JetWind Power Corp. founder, Dr. T.O. Souryal, a Highland Park physician who served as the Dallas Mavericks team doctor for 20 years. Souryal said he’s not leaving his successful practice as an orthopedic surgeon, but he’s excited about what the future holds for JetWind Power and sustainable energy.
“I just had an idea,” Souryal told daltxrealestate.com in a phone interview last week. “We’re doing some testing at Love Field, and Love Field has been fantastic about allowing us to test. They’re excited that this Dallas-based start-up is at their airport.”
Every time an aircraft departs out of Love Field’s Gate 9, the wind turbines spin and electricity is captured. The wind created by the aircraft can be used within minutes to charge an electric vehicle, Souryal explained.
“Right now we’re using the electricity to charge up the EVs in the aircraft control tower,” he said. “It’s still a work in progress, but everything is functional and it is Dallas-based. It’s a cool story … from a sustainability angle.”
Souryal said he’s open to selling or licensing the idea and passing the baton.
“I am certain that someone can do this better,” he said. “I am sure that someone with resources can take this and run with it. I have no intention of quitting my day job.”
Patrick Carreno, interim director of aviation at Love Field, said in a public statement Tuesday his team is thrilled to be the only airport in the world testing the benefits of this technology.
“It’s gratifying to see Dallas Love Field leading the aviation sector’s charge to decarbonize travel through our collaboration with JetWind Power Corporation,” Carreno said. “I am proud they chose our airport to assist with this innovation.”
Sustainability Programs at Love Field
The airport already has a few sustainability programs that accomplish the following:
- Reduce negative environmental impacts.
- Help maintain high, stable levels of economic growth.
- Improve social relations through a broad set of actions, ensuring organizational goals are achieved in a way that is consistent with the needs and values of the local community.
Elm Thicket/Northpark resident Jonathan Maples, who attended the July 13 meeting of Love Field’s Environmental Advisory Committee, said he’s excited about this project.
“This is very interesting to me,” Maples said. “I want to know more about how this is going to work and the benefits of it. We have young people who need opportunities, and this is something that is right up their alley.”
