WALNUT, Calif., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc.
(OTCQB: VSPC) today announced that CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen traveled to Nicaragua and Panama to:
- meet with Nicaraguan business partners
- visit the plantation where Giant King Grass has been growing
since 2012
- meet with the team conducting the formal power plant
feasibility study
- interview potential EPC (Engineering, Procurement and
Construction) contractors that would build the power plant
- meet with potential financial investors in the power plant
project
Kukkonen met with AGRICORP CEO Mr. Amilcar Ibarra Rojas and other principals in
Energia Reino Verde (English translation "Green Kingdom Energy"),
the special purpose company that will own and operate the 12 MW
biomass power plant to be co-located with a 2,100 acre Giant King
Grass (GKG) plantation in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan partners plan to
provide substantial equity funding for the project, in addition to
the project development funding they have already provided. They
are taking the lead in obtaining all government approvals and
permits for the project. Energia Reino Verde is a 50-50 partnership
of VIASPACE and Nicaraguan partners. VIASPACE CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen serves as president of Energia
Reino Verde.
Giant King Grass has been growing
on the 10,000 acre plantation on Lake Nicaragua since 2012. 6,000
acres are planted in rice and the remaining land is available for
Giant King Grass. Irrigation from Lake Nicaragua and captured
rainfall allows for year-round Giant King Grass production. At the
plantation, Kukkonen met with the agronomy team. Giant King Grass is growing well in Nicaragua and individual GKG plants weigh even
more than those grown in California demonstrating robust, high-yielding
GKG growth in the Nicaraguan environment.
Kukkonen and the Nicaraguan partners met with PELICAN SA, the
company conducting the formal feasibility study of the project. The
feasibility study team includes experts on electric power and
legal/environmental issues in Nicaragua, a power plant engineer from the US
experienced in construction and procurement, an expert in
connecting to the electrical grid, a sugarcane plantation expert,
and the person who built and operated the first sugarcane bagasse
power plant in Nicaragua. The
feasibility study will be completed in September 2014. The purpose of the feasibility
study is to confirm that the Energia Reino Verde business plan is
both technically and economically feasible, and to recommend any
improvements. The feasibility study is an independent third-party
assessment that is required by financial institutions and
investors.
Kukkonen met with four potential EPC contractors that are
interested in building the power plant. An EPC contractor
guarantees the price, schedule and performance of the power
plant. Experience in the Central American region and
experience with biomass power plants are important factors in
selecting an EPC contractor. These discussions will continue and an
EPC contractor will be selected soon after the feasibility study is
completed in September.
Kukkonen also met with international development banks,
commercial banks and equity investors to describe the project to
them and understand their ability to provide financing. Renewable
energy is of considerable interest to them, and the fact that Giant
King Grass is a dedicated energy crop that provides a reliable fuel
source is very important. Formal meetings with financing
institutions will occur after the third-party feasibility study is
completed.
VIASPACE Chairman, Dr. Kevin
Schewe, commented, "We have launched the formal feasibility
study for our 12MW Nicaragua
biomass power plant partnership to be completed in the next 90
days. We have complete confidence in PELICAN SA and the impressive
team of professionals that they have assembled to get this job done
in a manner that can be used as a reproducible template for
Nicaragua and the region. Our goal
is not a single 12MW biomass power plant but multiple biomass power
plants leading to a green energy electric industry that contributes
to the region's economy with job creation, carbon-neutral
electricity production and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. Our
partners in this project are capable, well-connected and moving
forward with confidence and finesse. VIASPACE and its shareholders
are fortunate to share in this team effort and budding development
in Central America."
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 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.