An automatic dispenser for a rolled material has a sensor that detects the presence of a user in front of the dispenser. When that occurs, a motor is driven by energy stored in a battery or a capacitor and a short length of the material is dispensed from the roll. The user then grasps that short length and pulls more of the material off the roll, thereby causing the roll to rotate. Rotation of the roll drives the motor as a generator producing electrical energy that recharges the battery or capacitor.