Climber-Owned Manufacturing Plant Is Going Green
December 2007AAC Past President Mark Richey is installing a wind turbine to generate electricity for his woodworking business in Newburyport, Mass. The turbine will generate 600 kilowatts, and will add significantly to the renewable-energy generating capacity at Mark Richey Woodworking, which employs 90 people. Richey previously installed a $500,000 biomass furnace to burn waste from his woodworking operations for heat.
One-third of the cost of the wind turbine will be funded with a $474,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The rest of the funds will be provided by Richey’s company and potentially other grants. The installation will begin once local permits and funding are secured.
“This is so important to us as a company and to me personally,” Richey told the Newburyport Daily News. “If we want to create a real change in the world economically, environmentally, and politically, we have to somehow find a way to wean ourselves off our addiction to foreign oil.”
Mark Richey Woodworking moved into its 130,000-square-foot building in April 2005. The same building also houses the MetroRock North climbing gym.
“Our goal is by 2009 to be self-sufficient and be a 100 percent green company,” Richey said.