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VIASPACE Giant King Grass Energy Crop Growing in Hawaii
WALNUT, CA, Jan 14, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
VIASPACE Inc. (OTCQB: VSPC) today announced that its proprietary
dedicated energy crop, Giant King(TM) Grass (GKG), is now growing in
Hawaii.
VIASPACE CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen stated, "Hawaii has the highest
electricity rates of any US state because their electricity is mostly
generated from expensive imported oil. Hawaii's electric rates range
from $.30 - $.40 per kilowatt hour depending on the cost of oil. This
is two or three times the cost of electricity on the US mainland.
Bioelectricity from Giant King Grass is substantially cheaper than
oil generated electricity and has much lower carbon emissions. In
addition, the large military presence on Hawaii has requirements for
liquid biofuels for aircraft and ships. We believe that Hawaii should
be an important part of the VIASPACE US strategy."
Previously, VIASPACE announced that Giant King Grass has been
released from quarantine by the US Department of Agriculture Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for distribution in the
United States. Hawaii, however, has additional plant import rules,
and the Giant King Grass is being grown in a facility under the
purview of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Kukkonen personally supervised the planting in Hawaii and met
with Department of Agriculture officials as well as with potential
Giant King Grass customers in Hawaii. Kukkonen continued, "The
climate in Hawaii is ideal for Giant King Grass. There are
substantial tracts of land available on different Hawaiian Islands
that were previously used to grow sugarcane and pineapple. These are
lying fallow now and can be used for energy crop production.
"Giant King Grass can also become an important part of the tourism
industry which is crucial for Hawaii's economy. Not only can Giant
King Grass provide clean electricity for hotels and resorts, visiting
the Giant King Grass plantations and co-located green power plants
can become one of the island's tourist attractions like visits to the
sugar and pineapple plantations. Giant King Grass could become the
source of electricity for the entire island of Lanai -- recently
purchased by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison -- and make it one of the
world's first green resort destinations. This concept is not unique
to Hawaii and applies to many islands and nations with tropical
climates that depend on oil for their electricity. For these
applications, Giant King Grass generated electricity is significantly
cheaper, continuously renewable and green."
VIASPACE Board Chairman Dr. Kevin Schewe added: "The Giant King Grass
now growing in Hawaii was provided by the VIASPACE nursery in
California. We have recently shipped GKG seedlings from California
for projects with three other customers and Dr. Kukkonen is currently
out of the country and personally supervising planting of GKG with
one of these new customers. We are anxious to announce these projects
and are respecting our clients' internal timelines and needs in this
regard. We have graduated from an R&D company and are busy executing
our business strategy on a global scale."
About VIASPACE Inc.
VIASPACE grows renewable Giant King(TM) 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 clean energy crop that does not compete
with or displace food production.
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, 2011, and other factors over which VIASPACE
has little or no control.
For more information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or contact
Dr. Jan Vandersande
Director of Communications
800-517-8050
IR@VIASPACE.com
SOURCE: VIASPACE Inc.
http://www.viaspace.com/
mailto:IR@VIASPACE.com
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