The technique works by focusing high-powered microwaves on plant-based material, transforming the tough cellulose molecules of the plant matter into volatile gases.

FORBES: Orange Peels Could Be Made Into Biodegradable Plastic

Now, that's a low bar, given -- (laughter.) But there was a team from Tennessee that had designed a self-powered water filtration plant so that homes in Appalachia could have access to clean water.

WHITEHOUSE: Education, Innovation & The Economy

At any rate, a group of municipal power companies in the American Midwest reckon that building a wind-powered compressed-air plant to take advantage of the blustery Great Plains will be worthwhile.

ECONOMIST: Compressed air might help to make wind power more reliable

In other green design news, artist Michael Jantzen has released designs for a solar-powered seed-sowing machine that would plant flowers at sites of environmental destruction.

ENGADGET: Inhabitat's Week in Green: flying electric car, 3D-printed livers and a two-story-tall bike

Supermarket giant Tesco has recently been given a green light to build Britain's first ever straw-powered Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to meet the electricity and heating needs of one of its distribution centres.

BBC: Time to encourage biomass growth

Electric cars help fight global warming because they contribute less greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than gasoline-powered cars, even if the electricity is made in a coal-fired power plant.

NPR: Entrepreneur Hopes To Charge Electric-Car Market

When completed, it will feature a biology-based wastewater recycling plant built with environmentally correct construction techniques, heated and cooled by geothermal technology and powered by photovoltaic solar panels.

FORBES: The Builder