WEST PALM BEACH, FL — (Marketwired) — 08/14/13 — Hydro Alternative Energy, Inc., most commonly known as “HAE,” a West Palm Beach, FL-based company helping to pioneer the commercialization of generating electricity from ocean currents, announced today that it has streamlined its organizational chart and named Mark Antonucci as Chairman and CEO. He had been serving as Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. “We are in the beginning process of transitioning from a start-up to operating mode and our organizational structure has been revised accordingly,” Antonucci said. Other changes include naming Luis Eduardo Bernal-Jaller, who had served as HAE–s Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, to the new position of Chief Relationship Officer, in which role he will be responsible for identifying the people, organizations and governmental agencies with whom HAE wants to build relationships. In addition, Enrique Pallares, who served as President, has assumed the new position of Chief Business Development Officer. Luciano J. Garcia-Baylleres continues in the position of Chief Operating Officer.
“We believe these organizational changes will help us broaden and make more effective our effort to attract investment capital when needed, access policy makers who face critical issues that will impact our prospects, and also strengthen our sales, marketing and other growth opportunities,” Antonucci said.
He also said that the Company–s highest priority is now to get an initial scaled commercialized version of its Oceanus unit in the ocean to prove its ability to generate electricity by marshaling the energy of ocean currents. “Once we get that achieved, we plan to refine our system based on such real world experience to achieve our goal of installing a full Oceanus system that can produce electricity on a large scale basis,” Antonucci said. He said that effort is being pursued through the Company–s wholly-owned South African subsidiary, Natural Forces Energy Solutions (Pty) Limited (“NFES”), which recently executed a Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) with the eThekwini Municipality, which includes the city of Durban, South Africa. As previously announced, the MOA outlines the specific ways that the municipality, with a population of approximately 3.5 million, will help NFES obtain the licenses and the access to certain municipal facilities, permissions, information and assistance so that the initial scaled commercialized Oceanus demonstration unit can be deployed within the Agulhas current off the coast of Durban.
Antonucci said that, “In connection with the eThekwini Municipality project, our current financing priority is to secure funding for the entire South Africa project. That would allow us to proceed not only with the demonstration and testing of the initial scaled commercialized Oceanus unit, but also, assuming success of the demonstration, a follow-on 100 megawatt power production project being discussed with the eThekwini Municipality energy authorities,” he said. “While we cannot yet report success in this effort, we are encouraged by the progress to date of negotiations with a prospective financing source to fund the entire South African project,” Antonucci added. He said that discussions with that prospective financing source have been proceeding step-by-step over the past few months. “We hope we can report the successful conclusion of those discussions in the near-future,” he said.
While the development of the Oceanus system has been the most visible and time-consuming part of HAE–s recent activities, Antonucci said that the Company has also looked at additional ways to grow its business and fulfill its Mission to become an Independent Power Provider (IPP) that generates electricity with minimal to no impact to the environment. He said that the Company has considered acquisitions, including considering acquiring a Panamanian electrical generating facility within the past few months, but that it has not yet found an acquisition that would fit with HAE–s strategy to become such an IPP. Antonucci said that HAE is currently engaged in initial negotiations to acquire a micro hydro power plant in Honduras, which is currently estimated to be operational by August 2014, subject to required financing. If these negotiations are successful, and the plant becomes operational, it will provide HAE with its first operational revenues and provide the Company another division in addition to the Oceanus division. “We plan to continue to look for and review additional growth opportunities that fit our Mission as they may present themselves,” he said.
Consistent with HAE–s growth and that of the hydrokinetic industry, Antonucci said it was time to launch a new “face” for HAE. Accordingly, HAE has launched a new web site, adopted a new logo, and plans to assume greater involvement and visibility as a pioneering leader within the hydrokinetic industry, he said.
Certain statements made by Hydro Alternative Energy, Inc. and members of its management team on its behalf in this release and other periodic oral and written statements, regarding the Company–s operating performance, events or developments that the Company believes or expects to occur in the future, including those that discuss anticipated financial results, strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters, or which relate to future sales, earnings expectations, cost savings, growth of the Company or of the market for its products and services, or general belief in the Company–s expectations of future operating results are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the need by the Company for substantial additional working capital to materially advance its business plan and projects it may undertake; no assurances that the Company will be able to secure such capital; technology challenges involved in the development of the Company–s planned products and services; the performance of the Company–s technology; the Company–s ability to protect its intellectual property; global and regional economic conditions; the strength of housing and related markets; retail and industrial demand; foreign currency effects; the ability to integrate acquisitions successfully and the risk that expected synergies may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; and competitors– product introductions, pricing and other competitive pressures, as well as other risk factors. Forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from anticipated results.
Contact:
Doug Poretz
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