Nuclear power is no silver bullet

In today’s issue:

• Nuclear power won’t save us now
• A round button in a smaller gun barrel
• How to play the energy crisis

The Fortune & Freedom team are on a well-deserved break… from me. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be giving you a rest.

Our compilation of the best Fortune & Freedom articles of 2024 continues with a rather nerve-wracking experience we had in August. A live video that had our compliance team sweating buckets as we went to air…

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Even nuclear can’t save us now…

When the Irish defenders of Aughrim Castle cracked open their ammunition boxes, they discovered that English musket balls were too big for their French flintlocks.

Oops…

So they fired their uniform buttons instead. Which didn’t have quite the desired impact…

No doubt half the soldiers blamed the English musket balls for being too big. The other half blamed the French flintlocks for being too small.

Both were missing the point. The musket balls and the flintlocks were just fine in their own right. It’s the fatal combination that was problematic. Fatal for the Irish, that is.

Today, we are making the same mistake with our energy policy.

Politicians want to diversify our electricity supply to include a very long list of different sources. Each one may or not make sense, in its own right. We all have our favourites. And like to argue about their merits.

But has anyone checked about how the puzzle pieces actually fit together? Do we know which combinations of energy supply make the most sense? Do we know which are like chalk and cheese?

I believe the answer is “no”. And the plan for a diversified energy mix is going to lead to disaster.

Worst of all, for investors anyway, unless we change course very soon, nuclear risks being the power source sacrificed on the altar of renewable energy.

To find out why, join us live on YouTube!

Until next time,

Nick Hubble
Editor, Fortune & Freedom