WALNUT, Calif., Oct. 22, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VIASPACE Inc. (OTCQB:VSPC) today announced that its proprietary, high yield, dedicated green energy crop Giant KingTM Grass is growing in California.
Giant King Grass (GKG) is the highest yielding biomass crop in the world. It is a renewable, nonfood, dedicated green energy crop for green electricity and biofuels. It is not genetically modified and not an invasive species. Giant King Grass has been extensively tested in independent laboratories and the results are excellent. The high yield of Giant King Grass makes it the lowest cost feedstock for electricity generation using direct combustion or anaerobic digestion or the production of cellulosic sugars for biofuels and biochemicals.
The company released a photo of VIASPACE CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen standing with Giant King Grass growing in California. The grass is 10 feet tall and will be harvested when it reaches 15-18 feet. (If the photo is not displayed, click this link: http://www.pricetargetmedia.com/images/viaspace_giant_king_grass_biofuel.jpg).
Dr. Kukkonen stated "California is a leader in renewable energy, and we believe that Giant King Grass can play an important role in electricity generation, and as a feedstock for nonfood cellulosic biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, and also for biochemicals and bioplastics. California is a leading state for agriculture and its warm weather makes it a good place to grow Giant King Grass. Giant King Grass can be grown on marginal lands and will not displace agriculture production."
Kukkonen continued, "VIASPACE's strategy is to expand aggressively in the United States, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The California site will provide Giant King Grass seedlings for customers and partners in other states, and it will be exported to other countries. The California site will also provide a convenient "showroom" for potential customers that want to see Giant King Grass for themselves. I encourage potential customers that need fuel for their power plants or biofuel refineries to contact VIASPACE by email at INFO@VIASPACE.com. We will also work with project developers on new power plant or biofuels projects. More and more project developers are realizing that they need to control their fuel source and a companion Giant King Grass energy plantation allows them to do this. Co-location of the plantation and the power plant or bio refinery simplifies logistics and reduces costs significantly. The cost reductions attributable to the high yield of Giant King Grass plus co-location can dramatically increase project profitability."
Dr. Kevin Schewe, VIASPACE chairman, commented: "I have personally toured and experienced our California GKG site. I can bear witness that Giant King Grass is an impressive, high yield biomass crop and its shear density of growth is amazing. For example, when you walk into the middle of our GKG plot in California where the grass has matured in height, the sunlight nearly disappears. Like me, our potential customers will easily see and identify with the continuously renewable benefit that this crop can provide."
Previously, the company revealed 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.
Giant King Grass was grown at the APHIS facility in Beltsville Maryland under the Plant Germplasm Quarantine Program. It was extensively tested for pathogens including analysis of the nucleic acid extract using E-Probe Diagnostic Nucleic Acids Analysis (EDNA). It was found to be pathogen free and released from quarantine.
About VIASPACE Inc.
VIASPACE grows renewable Giant KingTM 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. 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.
The VIASPACE logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15154
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 any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements 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, as well as general economic and business conditions; the ability to acquire and develop specific products and technologies; changes in consumer and business demand for the Company's products; competition from larger companies; changes in demand for alternative and clean energy; risks associated with international transactions; risks related to technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.
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The following pictures are available for download:
| [Image] | Giant King Grass GKG |
| [Image] | VIASPACE |