Exhibit 99.1
ECONO-POWER INTERNATIONAL & HOMELAND ENERGY SOLUTIONS, LLC
ANNOUNCE INTENT TO FORM JOINT VENTURE AND COMPLETE TECHNOLOGY
AGREEMENT FOR FIRST COAL-FUELED ETHANOL PLANT
December 6, HOUSTON — Econo-Power International
Corporation (EPIC) today announced they intend to form
Homeland Gasification LLC, which they expect to be a jointly owned
company with Homeland Energy Solutions, LLC (Homeland Energy).
While EPIC and Homeland Energy have not yet negotiated the terms of
ownership of the new company, the new company would use
EPIC’s proprietary coal gasification technology to supply
fuel gas for Homeland Energy’s planned ethanol facility in
New Hampton, Iowa.
EPIC
and Homeland Energy have negotiated an agreement providing that
pending financing of the coal gasification facility and other
conditions, the new company would utilize the EPIC Clean Coal
Gasification System™ to convert coal to fuel gas to provide
process energy for Homeland Energy’s plant. Peabody Energy
subsidiary COALTRADE, LLC also is working with Homeland Energy and
they anticipate arranging a long-term coal supply agreement for the
plant. The coal gasification facility would produce clean fuel from
U.S. agricultural products, reducing dependence on foreign energy
imports.
The
Homeland Energy facility is currently under construction by Fagen,
Inc. of Granite Falls, Minn., and upon completion expects to have
the capacity to produce 100 million gallons of corn-based
ethanol per year. The ethanol plant is expected to start up in the
fourth quarter of 2008, and the coal gasification facility is hoped
to begin operating in the first quarter of 2009 if the facility is
financed successfully.
EPIC,
The Clean Coal Gasification Company,™ is a Houston-based coal
gasification company with proprietary technology for industrial and
medium-sized IGCC plants. EPIC designs, installs, owns and operates
facilities using the EPIC Clean Coal Gasification System
