Rand Elliott denies he’s motivated by greed, but he admitted that following the economic crash in September, he’s been very motivated by fear.

 

Speaking to the Commercial Real Estate Council on Thursday, Elliott recalled how the start of the oil bust in 1983 forced him to trim his staff from 22 to four in one day. That memory, fear of what’s to come, and a design contest sponsored by Azure magazine all combined to inspire Elliott to dream up a project that drew gasps from developers and realtors gathered to hear his presentation of Turbinomic, a tower designed to generate its own power through a mix of solar and wind power.

"I didn’t win (the contest),” Elliott said. "But something more important, something incredible happened as a result of this exploration. The fear made me discover something that is always around us — the Oklahoma wind. And this idea could only happen in Oklahoma, not New York.”

The tower concept developed with Jamey Jacob, an engineer at Oklahoma State University who specializes in turbine and wind design, would generate all of its own power and even run a surplus on days when wind speeds exceed 28 mph. On days with average Oklahoma wind speeds of 13 mph, the turbines would generate 10 percent of the tower’s energy.

"We’ve had in the past few weeks wind speeds in excess of 50 mph for extended periods of time,” Elliott said. "This is a building that could generate cash on its own.”

The design calls for carbon fiber turbines between each floor that would operate independently at different speeds at each level. The skin would consist of transparent solar film and polished stainless steel to deflect the heat.

"Based on our current research, this has never been done before,” Elliott said. "What makes this unique is that we integrate the turbines into the facade. What people are typically doing is they are putting these turbines on the top. We are changing that.”

Would it work?

Elliott insists the building design, for which he has a patent pending, can work, though construction and operation costs have yet to be broken down. He said the design already has been reviewed by T. Boone Pickens, who has won national recognition for his efforts to promote alternative energy sources, and Ray Harris, president of Mesa Power.

Both men, Elliott said, were impressed with what they saw.

Those attending the presentation were unsure whether it could ever become a reality.

"It’s amazing,” broker Tim Strange said. "Wow, very cool.”

Strange, whose company Sperry Van Ness is one of downtown’s busiest leasing firms, believes the design will capture somebody’s imagination.

"I’m just not sure about its feasibility,” Strange said.

Dick Tanenbaum, a developer who has built residential, office and warehouse properties throughout the city, said the project’s feasibility will rest on whether energy savings can outweigh increased construction costs.

"I have no idea, nor does he. It’s exciting, but nothing happens without financing. I’m not sure this doesn’t happen more in a place like Dubai or New York. It’s absolutely a magnificent design,” Tanenbaum said.

Elliott said the next step in development will be creation of a model for wind tunnel testing. He believes the concept will become a reality.

"Change causes change,” Elliott said. "These changes in the economy and the changes going on environmentally caused us to seek new ideas and find new ways to solve problems. And the very best ideas are those reacting to the conditions all around us. They are within arms’ length. Are we paying attention?”

 

Click here to watch a conversation with Boone Pickens and Rand Elliott about Turbinomics