Ásgeir Margeirsson, the director of Magma Energy in Iceland, says that the sale of HS Orka to Magma Energy cannot be stopped, because it’s already been completed. He added furthermore that the natural resources Magma intends to use are already in public ownership.
Last weekend, the conclusion of a karaoke marathon organised in part by artist Björk Guðmundsdóttir to garner more signatures for a petition that asks the government to stop the sale of HS Orka, and to start a referendum on natural resources in public ownership, managed to raise over 46,000 signatures, or over 15% of the population. Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir has said that a petition gathering this many signatures could very well influence the government.
Speaking to RÚV, Ásgeir Margeirsson said that there is no stopping the sale of HS Orka, as the sale has already been completed. However, as the Grapevine reported, members of the Foreign Investment Review Committee have already pointed out that the government does have the right to nullify the sale under the clause of eminent domain.
Ásgeir went on to say that the geothermal deposits Magma seeks to use are already in public ownership, both on the state and municipal level. However, the lease that Magma has on these resources extends beyond what many Icelandic geologists have determined will be the lifespan of the geothermal deposits, which effectively makes them owned by Magma for the extent of their lives.
When and if the government intends to introduce a referendum on the public ownership of natural resources, or whether or not the government intends to nullify the sale of HS Orka, still remains to be seen.
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(Photo: vf.is)
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