VIASPACE Executive Highlights Giant King Grass Advancement & Commercial Opportunities in Africa to Generate Electricity, Manufacture Energy Pellets and Produce Bio-Fuels

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC), a clean energy company growing Giant King™ Grass as a low-carbon, renewable biomass crop and its subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VGREF), today announced that Chief Business Officer Dr. Munzer Sundos was invited to speak at the Biomass West & Central Africa Congress in Ghana, November 24-25, 2011. Dr Sundos' presentation was entitled "Giant King™ Grass: A Dedicated Energy Crop for Electricity Generation, Pellets & Biofuels". The presentation is available on the VIASPACE website www.VIASPACE.com.

With an estimated audience of 100 participants, including government officials and representatives from the region, international renewable energy and fuel company executives, researchers, producers, and entrepreneurs of agri-industrial sectors, the Congress aimed to address the rising needs for new biomass sources to meet Africa's power demands and address the strategic role Africa could play in supplying Europe with reliable biomass sources that meet the EU's 2020 renewable energy targets.

Dr. Sundos discussed the successful progress VIASPACE has made in developing Giant King Grass to be a superior dedicated energy crop with high yield and energy content, as well as presented VIASPACE's new business initiative to address Western and Central Africa's growing power and electricity needs, while providing sustainable biomass supply for strategic partners in Europe. 

He underlined that Giant King Grass is a non-edible energy grass that is suitable to grow in tropical and sub-tropical regions in West and Central Africa. It can be successfully grown on marginal lands that are considered undesirable for other crops. "Biomass has the potential to meet 50% of global future energy demand. With excellent energy content of 18.4 MJ per dry kilogram HHV, Giant King Grass will answer that demand offering reliable and predictable quality feedstock for electricity generation for local consumption, pellets for export, and longer-term opportunities to produce biofuels," Dr. Sundos said.

"The yields and profitability of Giant King Grass platform far exceed what is currently available through existing energy crops. Through our far-reaching development and production capabilities, we have established Giant King Grass as a large-scale sustainable energy crop with greater increases in productivity and profitability," said Dr. Sundos. "Giant King Grass offers unique advantages of superior yield and improved genomic traits including greater yield, pest resistance, enhanced germination, soil adaptation, efficient water use, uniformity and improved harvesting, all of which enhance profitability per hectare of the crop," he added.

He underscored that the pragmatic goals of a successful biomass project in Africa are to provide electricity and power and to offer local employment, a clean environment and energy security. Giant King Grass plantations can definitely meet both goals of generating electricity and manufacturing energy pellets for export while providing energy independence and creating economic opportunities and jobs for workers and growers throughout towns, country sides and rural areas."

The presentation was positively received by the attendees and generated productive meetings and successful tractions for future discussions. After visiting Ghana, Dr. Sundos traveled to several other African countries to meet with government officials and industrial executives to initiate and plan strategic business arrangements regarding biomass projects in those countries.

About VIASPACE Inc.

VIASPACE is a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil and high-pollutant energy sources. Through its majority-owned subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc., the Company grows Giant King Grass as a low-carbon fuel for electricity generating power plants, pellets, as a feedstock for bio methane production and cellulosic biofuels such as ethanol and butanol, and for biochemicals and bioplastics.  For more information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or www.VIASPACEGreenEnergy.com or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or [email protected].

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, 2010, 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.

SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.