By Lynda Delacey, Forbes

Lockheed Martin is making progress with its plan to be a global player in the clean energy market. Last month, executives at Lockheed Martin's Owego, New York plant cut the ribbon on a new self-sustaining bioenergy system that is helping power the facility, converting 3,560 tons of waste per year into electricity.

The waste-to-energy plant at Lockheed Martin, Owego, New York.(Credit: Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin spokesperson Michael Friedman told New Atlas the company hopes that in time the system will provide a clean, scalable answer to the world's landfill and clean electricity problems.

While converting bio-waste into energy is not new, incineration is still the most popular way of achieving this. The problem is, using fire as a step in the process creates serious emission problems, especially in countries that are already struggling with air pollution.