Ross Beaty has been claiming to the international media that his company is not buying Icelandic natural resources, and that the country’s geothermal energy could last “forever”. Alert readers have pointed out both of these claims to be false.
In a recent interview with the Globe and Mail, Beaty says, “The first misrepresentation was that we were out to buy the energy resources of the country. False. All we have is utilization rights [in geothermal] for a limited period of time. We have no ownership at all in resources.”
In numerous other interviews with the international media, Beaty has also claimed that geothermal is virtually limitless. The video below is a great example of Beaty’s sales pitch to the world:

Both his claim of temporary ownership and that geothermal power is an endless resource are false, and related to each other.
Icelandic scientists, among them Stefán Árnorsson and Sigmundur Einarsson, have said that geothermal power can only expect to last another 50 years at best. One alert reader of the Globe and Mail article adds: “Mr Beaty claims on Magma’s website that he plans to expand to harvesting more than 400MW in Iceland, naming areas his company has no access nor rights to. Scientists Einarsson and Arnorsson state that research indicates that a maximum of 100 MW can be harvested from the areas Magma has access to.”
The limited capacity of geothermal energy makes Beaty’s claim of only temporary ownership of geothermal resources in the Reykjanes area false – the 130 years that he claims is temporary actually extends beyond the capacity for geothermal power in the region.