Release
VIASPACE Inc., a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy, said that Chief Executive Dr. Carl Kukkonen provided an update on the Company’s renewable energy business during an interview yesterday on WallSt.Net’s "The Elevator Pitch."
According to Kukkonen, VIASPACE’s renewable energy business is focused primarily on growing and selling Giant King Grass as a sustainable, environmentally friendly alternative to coal currently being burned in electric power plants, and also as a raw material for producing natural gas and cellulosic biofuels.
Giant King Grass is a fast-growing, high-yield carbon-neutral crop that offers significant competitive advantages over other energy crops such as switchgrass and agricultural waste such as corn straw; its main advantage being two times to five times higher yield-per-acre than switchgrass, which translates into substantially more energy per acre.
A recent independent test of Giant King Grass confirmed its suitability as biomass for burning in electric power plants, and on September 14, 2009, VIASPACE announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing-based DP CleanTech Company Limited, the world leader in the design and construction of biomass power plants and the largest biomass electric power provider in China. DP CleanTech owns and operates 19 biomass power plants that are capable of generating a combined total of more than 400 megawatts (MW) electric power.
Kukkonen stated that just one of DP CleanTech’s 30-MW power plants requires 600 tons of biomass per day, or approximately 175,000 tons per year. With biomass at $36 per ton, a 30-MW power plant would require $6.3 million per year in Giant King Grass.
The Company is growing Giant King Grass in Guangdong province in China and is also looking for additional growing opportunities in Indonesia, India, Africa, Central America and South America. Giant King Grass offers economic advantages as well as energy efficiency, since it is a non-food crop that can be grown on land that is marginal for other agricultural purposes.
Kukkonen added that VIASPACE is the only dedicated energy crop company operating in Asia that is focused on supplying biomass to the electric power industry. Its business strategy includes building a stream of recurring revenues through long-term supply contracts with large users of biomass seeking a cleaner, sustainable and more dependable source of energy for their power-generating operations.
About VIASPACE Inc.: VIASPACE is an alternative energy company providing products and technology for renewable and clean energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil fuels and other high-pollutant energy sources. The Company provides raw materials for use as biomass and for producing cellulosic biofuels, and develops and markets fuel cell cartridges, products and technology. VIASPACE subsidiary Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation owns a portfolio of fuel cell patents licensed from Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where the direct methanol fuel cell was invented.
For more information, please see www.VIASPACE.com or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.
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