WALNUT, Calif., Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc.
(OTC: VSPC) today reported that Giant King Grass previously
released from quarantine in Hawaii
is successfully growing at the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
(HARC) on Oahu. HARC, which
originally began in 1882 as a trade organization of the sugarcane
industry, today has the mission to support a viable agricultural
sector in Hawaii by researching
and applying relevant science and technology to achieve practical
solutions and by identifying new agricultural opportunities.
The US Department of Agriculture previously approved VIASPACE's
proprietary Giant KingTM Grass for distribution
throughout the United States, and
has approved it for export to many countries. However, Hawaii has additional strict regulations for
importation of plants. Hawaii
required that Giant King Grass be grown and monitored in their
quarantine facility for 12 months. The quarantine period was
completed and Giant King Grass was cleared by officials in
Hawaii and released. All Giant
King Grass in Hawaii must be
propagated from the plants that were released from quarantine.
HARC agronomist, Ms. Jamie
Barton, is project leader for advanced biofuel research. She
stated, "We moved the Giant King Grass from the quarantine facility
into our greenhouse. We performed an initial propagation from the
quarantine plants in our greenhouse. Then we transplanted into the
ground in our experiment station. The Giant King Grass is growing
very well and is now more than 15 feet tall."
Ms. Stephanie Whelan, Executive
Director of the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, reported, "HARC
is actively pursuing opportunities that can help revitalize
agriculture on Hawaii. This can be
for bioenergy or for animal feed. Giant King Grass addresses both problems and is
welcome at our facility."
VIASPACE CEO, Dr. Carl Kukkonen,
commented, "The Giant King Grass at HARC will serve as a
propagation nursery to supply Giant King Grass to customers in
Hawaii, just as our California nursery serves the continental US
and the rest of the world. It will also allow us to do experiments
in the unique Hawaiian island climate. VIASPACE is in discussions
with companies in Hawaii that are
pursuing bioenergy, biofuels and animal feed. We have invested a
lot of time and energy in getting Giant King Grass cleared for
Hawaii. VIASPACE has demonstrated
that our proprietary, high yield Giant King Grass can meet the most
stringent agriculture standards in the world, and this should give
great confidence to potential new customers."
VIASPACE Board Chairman, Dr. Kevin
Schewe, concluded, "We are extremely pleased with our
relationship with the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center and the
care and skill that they have shown in cultivating and propagating
our Giant King Grass released from Hawaii's strict quarantine process earlier
this year. We now have a reputable and defined site of propagating
Giant King Grass on the island of Oahu that will serve us well as we expand into
the Hawaiian bioenergy and animal feed market. I encourage our
interested investors and clients to view the pictures of our 15
foot tall Giant King Grass growing at HARC on our Facebook page.
Hawaii is a very important market
for us and it has required a diligent step-by-step process to get
to this point of having Giant King Grass available to commercialize
there. Our next step is to proceed to commercialization and work to
revitalize Hawaii's commercial
agriculture, biomass, bioenergy and animal feed business
sectors."
Pictures of Giant King Grass at the Hawaii Agriculture Research
Center are available on the VIASPACE Facebook page
www.facebook.com/viaspaceinc.
A presentation titled: "Giant King Grass: Dual Use Crop-- Animal
Feed and Bioenergy" given at the Asia Pacific Clean Energy Summit
in Hawaii is available on the
VIASPACE website www.VIASPACE.com.
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 9 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, Guyana, Jamaica and Philippines. 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.
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SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.