GRAPEVINE, Texas, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GreenHunter Energy, Inc. (Amex: GRH) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a $170 million budget for capital expenditures in the 2008 calendar.

The capital expenditure budget will be allocated by the Company to its three business units: GreenHunter BioFuels, LLC, GreenHunter BioPower, Inc., and GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC. Additionally, an equity ownership position committed to last year in Guangdong MingYang Wind Power Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese wind power turbine manufacturer, was also approved.

For 2008, GreenHunter Energy will allocate approximately $65 million to the Company's Houston, Texas based biodiesel refinery and related infrastructure including terminal operations, tank storage, and a glycerin refinery. This renewable fuels complex is approximately 80% complete and on budget. Approximately $6 million has been allocated to the Company's existing biomass facility located in the Imperial Valley of Southern California. Start-up operators are anticipated prior to year-end 2008. GreenHunter Wind Energy, LLC (formerly known as Wind Hunter LLC) will have a capital budget of approximately $90 million. The board also approved third party capital investment totaling $9 million for the year.

Commenting on GreenHunter Energy's 2008 capital budget of $170 million, Mr. Gary C. Evans, Chairman and CEO, stated, 'Our Board of Directors has given our seasoned management team the financial freedom to continue the aggressive expansion efforts currently underway within our three renewable business lines; biodiesel, wind, and biomass. While this has been a period of instability and uncertainty in the renewable fuels and power sectors, we see many opportunities to be proactive and attempt to capitalize on the difficult operating conditions that many of our competitors are currently experiencing. Whether it be high feedstock costs, access to wind turbines, or the ability to tap the capital markets with debt financing and or equity, we believe that GreenHunter Energy is well positioned to rise to the occasion and provide operating success to our shareholders in an extremely exciting new industry that is in its very early stages of development.'

GreenHunter Energy is focused on the renewable energy sectors of wind, 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 and California, a former waste oil and chemical refinery currently being converted to the nation's largest biodiesel refinery located in Houston, Texas, and a biomass power plant located in El Centro, California. Headquartered in Grapevine, Texas, GreenHunter Energy was formed to be the first U.S. publicly traded renewable energy company that provides to investors a portfolio of diversified assets in the alternative energy sector.

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.

SOURCE GreenHunter Energy, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire (February 19, 2008 - 7:30 AM EST)

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