Nov 20 2009
Clean energy firm VIASPACE has leased additional land of 136 acres in the Guangdong Province of China to grow the Giant King Grass, which is a renewable energy crop with low-carbon content. VIASPACE finished planting Giant King Grass in the additional land.
The company has also implemented plans to propagate seedlings in order to maintain its Energy projects in the year 2010.
From the 250 acres of land that it currently has under cultivation, VIASPACE will be able to support the requirements of its joint venture partners, and also show a sample of the produce to potential customers. The yield from the cultivation is also seen as sufficient for meeting the immediate demand for the production of energy pellet products. VIASPACE also proposes to use the land under cultivation as a nursery to raise seedlings that can be planted in additional lands. Apart from this recent leasing, VIASPACE is in the process of acquiring more lands for the cultivation of renewable energy crops.
According to Dr. Karl Kukkonen, the Chief Executive Officer of VIASPACE, the acquisition of additional land will provide the company with the ability to increase the production of Giant King Grass crops. The increase in the production, in turn, is seen to be able to empower the company to implement many large-scale projects involving low-carbon energy with prospective customers and partners. The projects will include production of biomass from the combustion of Giant King Grass as well as the production of pellets from Giant King Grass, which can be used along with coal.
As the Giant King Grass grows faster, VIASPACE plans to propagate seedlings to develop 25,000 acres of lands. The project plan for the year 2010 covers the development of 5,000 acres of plantations that are capable of producing a projected volume of 200,000 tons of pellets annually, from Giant King Grass. The pellets thus produced are estimated to fetch a value of $20 million.
VIASPACE provides the raw material for the production of cellulosic biofuels and also develops fuel products and technology.
Source: www.VIASPACE.com