Maria’s Note: Maria Bonaventura here, Nomi’s senior managing editor. Today, we have a special evening edition of Inside Wall Street. Here’s why…
In the weeks ahead, a new bill titled S.3428 could thrust a secretive government energy tech into the commercial realm.
It’s called “SMR,” and it’s been classified for 68 years… Until now.
Nomi spoke with at least a dozen government insiders. And with record-low fuel reserves… And natural disasters pushing our energy grid to the brink… America is ready for “SMR.”
Tomorrow (March 11) at 8 a.m. ET, Nomi is going live with an Urgent “SMR” Energy Briefing. She’ll do a deep dive on this megatrend, and tell you about a tiny $2 company at the center of it. So be sure to RSVP here with one click.
Then, read on for more from Nomi. In the essay below, she dispels a myth about one of the most important projects in U.S. history. And she shows us the moneymaking clues it offers today…
Yesterday, I showed you how the Hoover Dam was one of the best examples of public and private money collaborating in our country’s history.
I wrote about how that project catalyzed massive growth for one small company. Anyone that invested in it at the time could have made tons of money. Only that wasn’t possible…
But that’s terrific news for you now. Because I see a similar opportunity that you can invest in.
In this essay, I’ll explore the sheer breadth of the Hoover Dam project, the power it produces, and a once-in-a-century opportunity you can take advantage of today…
The Secret of the Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam was originally called the Boulder Dam.
The popular story about it goes something like this: The Hoover Dam was an FDR-New Deal project designed to put Americans to work during the Great Depression.
But that’s not true. Not even a little bit.
In fact, President Herbert Hoover came up with the idea. He wanted to use the Colorado River to provide water and electricity to Southern California and the Imperial Valley.
When it was done, the Hoover Dam was the biggest and tallest dam on the planet.
It stands 726.4 feet tall from its foundation to the road. And it stretches 1,244 feet across the Black Canyon of the Colorado River.
The Hoover Dam is a huge concrete arch-gravity dam. It’s no longer the largest or the tallest dam in the world.
But the 6-million-ton concrete construct is still enormous. That’s enough concrete to build a 4-foot-wide sidewalk around the planet.
Nomi on a recent visit to the Hoover Dam
And here’s a fact that blows my mind…
Every single state in the country contributed some part of the supplies and materials needed to complete the build. Talk about a national effort.
Construction for the dam spanned five years. This created jobs for as many as 5,218 people who worked during the peak of its building activity.
That’s the infrastructure part. But there’s a massive energy component to the story, too…
The Hoover Dam Story Is a Massive Energy Story
The Hoover Dam provides an abundance of cheap electricity for California and the Southwest.
In fact, if not for the dam, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake would not be anywhere near the size they are now.
Today, the seven states of the Colorado River Basin have 45 million more people than they did in 1930.
That population growth happened thanks to the water and electricity that the Hoover Dam provided.
Because without energy, economic growth is impossible.
One goal of the Hoover Dam project was to protect surrounding cities and farms from water damage. After all, the Colorado River is prone to floods.
But there was a larger goal, too…
To harness the river, southeast of Las Vegas, to generate enough cheap electricity to power homes and industries throughout the region.
How? Well, that’s where Lake Mead comes in.
One of the Most Lucrative Electric Plants Ever Built
Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, is located behind the dam. It can hold more than 9 trillion gallons of water from the Colorado River.
And it provides water to farmland, industries, and millions of people in Nevada, Arizona, California, and as far south as Mexico.
But the Hoover Dam didn’t just create a massive reservoir of water in the middle of the desert. It created one of the most lucrative electricity generation plants ever built.
That’s because the dam generates enough power to enable the economies of its surrounding cities and states to thrive.
The water from Lake Mead drives the massive turbines at the dam that generate electricity for the surrounding states mentioned above.
There are 17 hydroelectric turbines that make up the Hoover Powerplant, and they’re located at the base of the dam.
These turbines generate roughly 4.2 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year. That makes it one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the United States.
Each generator can power up to 100,000 American homes. And the hydroelectric plant produces enough electricity to serve about 1.3 million people across Arizona, California, and Nevada.
Hydropower, or hydroelectric power, is one of the oldest and most plentiful sources of renewable energy around. It accounts for 31.5% of the total renewable electricity in the U.S., and about 6.3% of all U.S. electricity.
Plus, its profit margins are impressive.
The plant sells its electricity on the wholesale market for 1.6 cents per kilowatt hour. In comparison, Las Vegas residents pay about 11.6 cents per kWh for electricity.
That means consumers pay seven times the price the Powerplant sells its electricity for.
But even at that low cost, the Hoover Dam generates and sells about $63 million in electricity every year. Remember, it cost $49 million, in 1930s dollars, to build it.
What’s more, the dam will keep generating this revenue for decades.
And there’s one more reason why the Hoover Powerplant is such a marvel.
Hydroelectric power plants are extremely energy efficient. That’s because hydro turbines convert up to 90% of the available energy into electricity.
That’s much better than fossil fuel-powered plants. They can only convert about half of the available energy into electricity. And they emit carbon in the process.
What This Means for Your Money Today
Now, I can’t take you back in time to invest in one of the private companies that built the Hoover Dam.
But I can tell you this…
We are standing at the cusp of a power initiative that will thrust our economy into a robust future. Just like the Hoover Dam’s power plant lifted the economies of the western U.S. states.
I’m talking about a profit opportunity that combines the ingenuity of the past with the promise of the future.
So please, join me at my Urgent Energy Briefing tomorrow, March 11 at 8 a.m. ET (RSVP with one click here).
I’ll fill you in on all the details of this once-in-a-century opportunity in the energy markets. Forbes says it could become the “go-to energy source” for the United States.
And as I’ll show you at my Energy Briefing, my team and I found a tiny $2 company with a virtual monopoly in this subsector. I hope to see you there.
Regards,
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Nomi Prins
Editor, Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins
P.S. I’ve spoken with at least a dozen government insiders across state and party lines. And with record-low fuel reserves… And natural disasters pushing our energy grid to the brink… America is ready for change.
At my Urgent Energy Briefing tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about the secretive energy tech that could be the answer. It’s called “SMR,” and it’s set to receive a $4 trillion torrent of government cash as soon as March 22.
The $2 company I mentioned above has the only federal license to produce “SMR” in America. I call this company “The Next Exxon.” And tomorrow, I’ll explain how this tiny, $2 company could deliver as much as 20x in the long run. To reserve your spot for my special briefing, sign up here with one click.