Alternative Energy Powers NY Fiber Mill

June 22, 2011

Lancaster Farming

28th May 2011

ELIZAVILLE, N.Y. — Dan Melamed and Sara Healy take special pride that all the fiber they process at their fiber mill is grown on the couple’s 200-acre Hudson Valley farm, where they raise 125 Angora goats and 110 Cormo sheep. They’re also pleased that they have made Buckwheat Bridge Angoras as sustainable as possible. “It was Dan’s idea,” Healy said of her husband. “But we both really believe there’s a big need for sustainability in agriculture and alternative energy in general. Anyone who’s not thinking in that direction really needs to think about it. “There’s really no way that the world can go forward the way it’s going now. I ask people who aren’t asking about it why they aren’t.” They purchased the farm 12 years ago. In 2005, the couple installed 84 solar panels which produce 10 kilowatts of electricity, and five years later, a 100-foot tall wind turbine to help power the mill. Healy isn’t sure how much money they’re saving from these efforts since the turbine has been operating only since September; however, the mill is powered solely between the two sources of energy.