LARAMIE -- Entrepreneurs Jeny and Mike Stoesz are now using the wind in downtown Laramie to support their mission of offering "natural, sustainable, energy-efficient, organic and recycled products," with an emphasis on Wyoming producers.

The Stoeszes operate both Jeny's Original Yarns and Handwovens and the Laramie Digital Photo Center in a building half a block west of the Connor Hotel on Grand Avenue, where they sell everything from organic towels to Pine Bluffs-produced buffalo meat and buffalo rib back-scratchers to mercury-free LED bulbs.

Recently they made a big step toward reducing their "carbon footprint" by installing a vertical-axis wind turbine on the roof.

The 1-kilowatt turbine will produce electricity at almost any wind speed and is expected to reduce their monthly electric bill by 40 to 80 percent, depending on how much the wind blows. The Tangarie turbine was made in Canada and cost $4,500, but is expected to operate with little maintenance for 20 to 30 years, according to Mike Stoesz.

He said this is the first Tangarie turbine installed in the state, so far as he knows.

The Aurora inverters, which transform the electricity from the roof into the 110-volt stream that can be fed into the grid, cost from $2,500 to $4,800, Stoesz said, and installation of his device cost about $2,600.

The couple will soon install solar photovoltaic cells on the roof to make them nearly self-sufficient for electricity, and solar heating will be next in their plans.

Jeny's business has grown from offering hand-dyed yarns in colors inspired by Mike's Wyoming photographs to bringing in many different products which fit into their eco-theme. These include ragg rugs from Riverton made from recycled plastic jugs, cormal wool from Kaycee, pottery from Rock Springs, goat milk soaps from another producer in Kaycee, and quilts made by a woman in Laramie from scrap fabric and men's shirts.

The store also offers wood furniture from Wheatland and iron or glass furniture from Cheyenne.

The store also can get you a small-scale wind turbine made by a man in Cody which is designed to power motor homes and the like, Jeny said.