Vega Biofuels Celebrates National Bio-Energy Day

VEGA BIOFUELS, announced today an innovative collaboration to grow bio-crops, produce, sell and utilize solid and liquid bio-fuels and to expand the state's bio-economy, starting in Allendale, South Carolina and expanding across the state.

This announcement is made on National Bio-Energy Day, which provides an opportunity to showcase bio-energy facilities and the bio-energy supply chain around the United States. The US Department of Energy will celebrate National Bio-Energy Day with an educational display about the bio-energy supply chain and the bio-economy in the lobby of the Energy Department's Forrestal building in downtown Washington, D.C.

Vega and its Joint Venture partner, Agri-Tech Producers, LLC are developing a pilot torrefaction plant, at 1624 Bluff Road, in Allendale, SC which will convert plant and wood material ("biomass") into a variety of bio-products, including a clean and renewable Bio-coal, which is co-fired in coal-burning electric plants with minimal alterations, to help reduce carbon and chemical pollution.

The collaboration is with Midlands Biofuels. Midland converts waste cooking oil into a cleaner and renewable biodiesel fuel and has just begun its waste oil collections in Allendale. Midland Biofuels owner, Joe Renwick recently asked Joe James, President of Vega's JV partner, Agri-Tech Producers, LLC if the JV would grow canola, an oilseed crop, so that Midlands would have an increasing supply of cooking oil that it could sell to the restaurants from which it collected waste cooking oil.

Vega's joint venture, ATP-SC, LLC has already leased a 40-acre farm field immediately adjacent to its Allendale pilot plant with the intention of growing biomass sorghum next spring. However, Midland's request created an opportunity for ATP-SC, LLC to immediately put the idle acreage to work growing canola, a winter crop, while still planning to plant bio-crops in the spring.

Both companies are hopeful that this small collaboration will inspire similar and larger collaborations across the state, where farmers can grow both canola and bio-crops on the same farm.

Both Mr. James and Mr. Renwick are members of the South Carolina Clean Energy Business Alliance, which is a cooperative enterprise tasked with building a broad-based business alliance that fosters the development of a clean energy industry in the state. Mr. James is a founding member of the state's Biomass Council, which believes that South Carolina can use its abundant biomass resources to be energy independent and generate a reliable, affordable, and green source of power, cleanly and efficiently.

This is the first collaboration between the Parties, but it is anticipated that it will not be the last as they pioneer a new sustainable industry and grow green jobs in SC. They have a winning collaboration to grow, process, and fuel South Carolina's future.

A media event is being held today for those interested in learning more. ATP-SC and Midlands Biofuels will both be onsite at 1624 Bluff Road in Allendale, SC at 11:00 am today delivering Biodiesel to be used for this project and collection containers for Allendale County recycling centers.