VIASPACE Giant King Grass Business Meetings in Philippines and China

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC), and its renewable energy subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VGREF) reported that Chief Executive Dr. Carl Kukkonen traveled to the Philippines and to the Giant King™ Grass plantation in January following his previously reported meetings in Thailand.

Kukkonen discussed potential electric power plants and pellet mills that could be co-located with Giant King Grass plantations in several areas of the Philippines.  Kukkonen visited potential growing sites on Luzon near Manila and in Mindanao.  

Kukkonen stated, "The Philippines has a significant shortage of power, and the government is encouraging clean renewable electricity from biomass.  I met with the Philippines Department of Energy and with businessmen and local government officials.  The Department of Energy will release its pricing for biomass electricity in the second quarter of the year. The weather in the Philippines is good for Giant King Grass; land is available and the potential for biomass is very high.  Giant King Grass was well received."

In China, VIASPACE conducted four separate visits to the Giant King Grass plantation and Green Log™ factory for potential customers.  Two of the groups were from Thailand and their due diligence visits followed business meetings held earlier in January in Bangkok.  One group is developing a 25 MW biomass power plant in Thailand to provide electricity and process steam for their processing factory which is under construction. The second group from Thailand is examining Giant King Grass as a clean source of heat in the cement industry.

A large Chinese energy company planning to develop a 50 megawatt biomass power plant toured the Giant King Grass plantation.  The company has many other operating power projects and the proposed biomass power plant, awaiting government approval, would be located near the current Giant King Grass plantation. The last visitor to the plantation was a company that currently operates an electric power plant in Cambodia that plans to add additional capacity using biomass.

VIASPACE expects to be able to announce more details about Giant King Grass business arrangements in the near future.

About VIASPACE

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, as a feedstock for bio methane production and cellulosic biofuels, and for other low-carbon, renewable energy products.  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, 2009, 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.