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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:26 p.m., Tuesday, June 12, 2007

San Diego firm lends expertise to Hawaii BioEnergy

Advertiser Staff

A Hawai'i partnership that includes three of the states largest landowners has gained a San Diego-based venture capital company as a member and investor.

Hawai'i BioEnergy LLC said Finistere Ventures LLC, a life sciences venture capital firm that specializes in agricultural biotechnology and renewable energy, will lend its expertise in development of biomass and investment in agriculture and renewable energy. Besides its base in San Diego, Finistere has ties with other parts of the Pacific and has been reviewing investment opportunities in Hawai'i, Hawai'i BioTechnology said.

The partnership was formed last year by Maui Land & Pineapple Co, Kamehameha Schools and Grove Farm. Among its goals is helping the state replace "imported fossil fuel with locally produced energy sources and the rebirth of large-scale agriculture."

Other members of the partnership include Khosla Ventures, a venture capital fund headed by Vinod Khosla, the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Other participants include Brasil Bioenergia, a company formed by Brazilian industrialist Ricardo Semler, and Tarpon Investments, an investment firm.