Methods and articles are provided for generating electricity from carbon-based photosynthate produced by a plant. The methods include providing the plant with a composition including CO2 and/or a composition that generates CO2, harvesting a carbon-based photosynthate from the plant, processing the carbon-based photosynthate to produce energy, and converting at least some of the energy into electricity. An apparatus for converting the carbon-based photosynthate into CO2 and heat, and an apparatus for converting the heat of combustion into electricity is also provided. An apparatus is also disclosed for providing the plant with a composition including CO2 and/or a composition that generates CO2.