WALNUT, Calif., April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --VIASPACE Inc. (OTCQB: VSPC) today announced that the company has signed a contract with Emunite Energy Solutions Inc. to provide Giant King Grass for its planned 100,000 ton per year pellet mill. Giant King Grass was delivered to Guyana and planted April 15-17, 2014. VIASPACE received an initial payment, and will receive an ongoing license fee upon production.
Emunite Energy Solutions is based in St. Lucia, West Indies. The company is dedicated to the development and successful implementation of sustainable renewable energy solutions that replace fossil fuel powered generation plants in developing nations. Emunite focuses on solutions that address the power and energy challenges faced by developing nations, while simultaneously providing an economic stimulation to the agricultural sectors.Further information on Emunite is available on their website www.emuniteenergy.com.
Emunite CEO, Mr. Glenrick White, stated, "We are happy to team with VIASPACE to provide Giant King Grass as a dedicated energy crop for our pellet mill. Giant King Grass pellets will be exported to the USA and Europe to replace coal in existing coal-fired power plants, thus reducing their carbon dioxide emissions. This renewable energy project is good for the global environment, and provides agriculture and industrial jobs in Guyana. This project has received support from the Ministry of Agriculture as well as Go Invest Guyana and is seen as a viable boost not only to employment but also to foreign exchange. We have partnered with a local team lead by David Searam and Arnold Doobay to facilitate the provision of alternative employment and promotion of agriculture for the area of Kwakwani, a predominantly logging area."
Guyana is on the northern coast of South America, bordered by Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname and the Atlantic Ocean. Guyana is a former British colony where English is spoken. Although not actually in the Caribbean, Guyana is considered more Caribbean than South American and is better known for playing cricket as opposed to football (soccer). Guyana is the size of Great Britain or the same size as Minnesota in the US, but has a population of only 795,000 people. Economic activity includes agriculture-- rice, sugarcane and food crops, bauxite, gold and diamond mining and timber. It is located about 6 degreesnorth of the equator and includes a large tropical rain forest and savanna grasslands.
Dr. Carl Kukkonen, VIASPACE CEO, reported, "I personally went to Guyana to oversee the planting. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the Guyana team. The Giant King Grass, which originated from our nursery in California, was planted in savanna grassland that is adjacent to the rain forest. The Guyana team is confident that rainfall will be sufficient and that additional irrigation is not needed. The planting is only 140 miles from Georgetown, the capital, and is strategically placed, being very close to the Berbice River where timber is currently exported, and pellets can be easily transported to the river for export. The tropical climate of Guyana is ideal for growing Giant King Grass. Near the coast, they grow a lot of sugarcane. However, there are vast areas in the interior suitable for Giant King Grass where nothing of significant economic value is growing now. This represents a large business opportunity for Guyana and for VIASPACE."
VIASPACE Board Chairman, Dr. Kevin Schewe, added, "The announcement of this project with Emunite is important to our Company and its shareholders for two significant reasons. First, VIASPACE now has Giant King Grass growing on the continent of South America which we know is a very large market for our product and business model. Second, our partner's plan here is to use VIASPACE Giant King Grass to produce biomass pellets for export to Europe and the USA. Our shareholders know how financially important the global pellet market is. The current global market volume of demand for biomass pellets is about 16 million metric tons annually and is projected to essentially triple to 46 million tons annually by 2020, representing a total market value of $8 billion U.S. Most of the near-term growth is predicted in wood fuel pellet markets worldwide. At VIASPACE, we know that we have a better solution to this demand. Our product, Giant King Grass, is rapidly and continuously renewable (can be harvested at 15 feet height twice per year in a rain forest climate like Guyana) as opposed to trees which provide a vital environmental canopy and have a long life cycle."
Dr. Schewe concluded, "I am truly excited for our Company and its shareholders to add Guyana and South America to our global footprint! VIASPACE is succeeding in building a pipeline of widely diverse, renewable, green energy biomass projects (and animal feed projects) both domestically and across the globe using our Giant King Grass biomass platform product. We are getting multiple deals in place and creating a pipeline for future revenues. 2014 has started very strong for us and we have much more to report going forward."
Pictures of the planting in Guyana are available on the VIASPACE Facebook page www.facebook.com/viaspaceinc.
VIASPACE press releases including pictures are sent out to people on the VIASPACE mailing list. Sign-up at the VIASPACE website www.VIASPACE.com.
About VIASPACE Inc.
VIASPACE grows renewable Giant King' Grass as a low-carbon fuel for clean electricity generation; for environmentally friendly energy pellets; and as a feedstock for bio-methane production and for green cellulosic biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials. Giant King Grass is a proprietary, high yield, dedicated biomass energy crop. Giant King Grass when it is cut frequently at 4 to 5 feet tall is also excellent animal feed. The USDA granted approval for planting Giant King Grass throughout the US and cooperates in exporting by performing the required inspections and issuing the phytosanitary certificate needed for import into foreign countries. Giant King Grass is being grown in California, Arizona, Hawaii, St. Croix Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, South Africa, China, Myanmar, Pakistan and Guyana. For more information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Information in this news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.
SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.
