| News GREENHUNTER ENERGY SUBSIDIARY ACHIEVES 65% PRODUCTION CAPACITY AT NATION’S LARGEST BIODIESEL REFINERY SHUTTING DOWN OPERATIONS AT HOUSTON BIODIESEL REFINERY TODAY IN GRAPEVINE, TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 – GREENHUNTER BIOFUELS, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GreenHunter Energy, Inc. (AMEX: GRH), announced today that over the last twenty-four hours it has achieved 65% of nameplate production capacity (65% of 105 million gallons-per-year) at the country’s largest biodiesel refinery located in Houston, Texas. The refinery is currently using animal fats (poultry fat and beef talloy) as its feedstock, but has used five different feedstocks (vegetable oils and animal fats) since initiating commercial operations in July. Separately, the Company has announced that due to concerns about the projected strike path of Hurricane Ike, it is removing all non-essential personnel and temporarily shutting down operations at its Renewable Fuels Campus in Houston, Texas. Operations are anticipated to remain shut down until Monday, September 15, barring no significant damage to the GreenHunter BioFuels assets. Commenting on today’s news from GreenHunter BioFuels, Bruce Baughman, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology, stated, “Though our Renewable Fuels Campus is located about twenty miles from Galveston Bay, we feel it prudent to minimize risk to our existing asset base by evacuating the premises due to the current projected path of Hurricane Ike. Fortunately, when the GreenHunter BioFuels team engineered our facility, we took into account the likelihood of the landing of a major hurricane. Beyond the fact that we are fully insured for replacement value of the asset, we are engineered to withstand the winds and major flooding that could occur from Hurricane Ike.” Mr. Baughman continued, “Our achievement of 65% of nameplate capacity has not been without challenges; however, the fact that we have achieved 65% of capacity in less than 60 days of operations and have produced a quality product that we expect will provide GreenHunter Energy with meaningful net operating margins is a landmark achievement. Operations and production at the GreenHunter BioFuels refinery continue to be sustainable at the 50% nameplate capacity, and the 65% throughput rate has been achieved for sustained periods of 8 hours or more in a given 24-hour operating period. This is a tough time for biodiesel producers as a whole, but GreenHunter BioFuels is proving that we are an exception to the norm, and that we will be long-term players in this industry.” Forward-Looking Statements Any statements in this press release about future expectations and prospects for GreenHunter Energy and its business and other statements containing the words “believes”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “expects”, “will” and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the substantial capital expenditures required to fund its operations, the ability of the Company to implement its business plan, government regulation and competition. GreenHunter Energy undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future. # # # GreenHunter Energy is focused on the renewable energy sectors of wind, hydro, geothermal, solar, biofuels, and biomass power plants. Our assets consist of leases of real property for future development of wind energy projects located in Montana, New Mexico, California, Texas, wind development projects in Wyoming and China that we believe will be acquired in the future, the nation’s largest biodiesel refinery located in Houston, Texas, a cow manure-fired power plant located in Brawley, California, and a wood-waste fired power plant located in Telogia, Florida. Headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, GreenHunter Energy was formed to be the first publicly traded renewable energy company based in the U.S. that provides to investors a portfolio of diversified assets in the alternative energy sector. Additional information about GreenHunter Energy may be found at www.greenhunterenergy.com. # # # For Further Information Contact: |
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