WALNUT, Calif., April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc.
(OTCQB: VSPC) today announced that VIASPACE and its Nicaraguan
partners are forming a company in Nicaragua to own and operate the Giant King
Grass plantation and co-located 12 MW power plant. The
company is named "Energia Reino Verde" or in English "Green Kingdom
Energy".
At the International Biomass Conference held in Orlando, Florida March
24-26, 2014, VIASPACE CEO, Dr. Carl
Kukkonen, reported progress on the Nicaragua project in a special session
dedicated to international projects. The 7th
annual International Biomass Conference with more than 1,100
attendees featured workshops on Bioenergy Project Development and
the Pellet Supply Chain, as well as tracks on biomass power,
biogas, advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals, pellets and
international projects. There were also more than 200
exhibitors.
According to Kukkonen's presentation, VIASPACE and Nicaraguan
partner AGRICORP have signed a project development agreement.
The 12 MW biomass power plant will be fueled by a 2,100 acre Giant
King Grass plantation that is co-located with the Miramontes rice
plantation which is located on and irrigated from Lake Nicaragua.
Giant King Grass has been growing
well there since 2012. Rice husks from the Miramontes rice mill
will be a secondary fuel providing about 5% of the overall fuel
requirement.
The project will generate 84,000,000 kWh of saleable electricity
which will be transmitted on the national grid and sold both to the
grid and to private customers. The project lifetime is 25 years.
Meetings have been held with both debt and equity financiers. It is
expected that 70% of the project cost will be covered by debt and
30% by equity. The prefeasibility study has been completed and the
formal feasibility study process is underway.
Kukkonen reports, "The International Biomass Conference was very
valuable. Many US and global biomass and green energy companies
attended, and we were able to schedule meetings that otherwise
would have required extensive travel. My presentation was very well
received and several parties are interested in replicating our
Nicaragua project in their
countries. I met with potential partners and customers from the US,
Europe, Mexico, Central and South America as well as Asia. I expect
that new business will develop from this conference."
Kukkonen continued, "The Nicaragua project is our flagship. VIASPACE is
playing the role of project co-developer as well as supplier of
Giant King Grass. Many potential customers are following this
project closely. VIASPACE's strategic goal is to assemble an
engineering, construction and financing team that we can work with
on this project and many others in the future."
Dr. Kevin Schewe, VIASPACE Board
Chairman, commented, "The International Biomass Conference and Expo
is the largest biomass conference in North America. The technical sessions contain
the most comprehensive biomass presentations gathered from around
the world. We are pleased that Dr. Kukkonen was invited to speak at
the International Colloquium Bonus Session and give an update on
our 2,100 acre Giant King Grass plantation and co-located 12MW
power plant in Nicaragua. We used
this forum to first announce "Energia Reino Verde" ("Green Kingdom
Energy"), our new joint company formed to generate 84,000,000 kWh
of saleable electricity to the Nicaraguan power grid and to private
customers. As co-developer, VIASPACE both supplies Giant King Grass
and is a partner in the sale of electricity. Another beauty of this
project is our role to assemble an essential and efficient business
development framework that can be replicated in the region and
globally. VIASPACE is now very busy creating a widely diverse and
robust international and domestic revenue pipeline using Giant King
Grass as the continuously, renewable biomass platform for producing
green electricity, advanced biofuels and animal feed."
Pictures from Nicaragua are
posted on the VIASPACE Facebook page www.facebook.com/viaspaceinc.
The presentation at the International Biomass Conference is posted
on 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 and Pakistan. 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.