State regulators are generally giving their approval, although environmentalists are warning that cutting down trees to make it work is a no-no and that using wood waste or scraps is a more plausible option.

FORBES: Biomass Breathing New Life Into Coal Plants

"After I left the Army I found myself living in a shed and chopping wood - I knew I was stuck in a rut and I wanted to get back to work, " he said.

BBC: The Retreat at Ashcott, Somerset

Another of Kern's photographs, taken in a squat in a former cabaret restaurant, shows a young man and woman, semi-clothed and hard at work to repair and alter their surroundings using cloth and wood.

CNN: Making a 'squat' a home