Maria’s Note: Maria Bonaventura here, Rogue Economics’ senior managing editor. I’m thrilled to welcome our new editor, Nomi Prins. Nomi is a best-selling author and financial journalist. But once, she was a Wall Street insider…
Nomi worked as a managing director at Goldman Sachs… ran the international analytics group as a senior managing director at Bear Stearns in London… and was a strategist at Lehman Brothers and an analyst at the Chase Manhattan Bank.
Over the next few weeks, Nomi will show you why she left her career as a global investment banker… and set out to demystify the world of money.
And, going forward, you’ll hear from Nomi and her team every day in these pages. They’ll shed light on the ways the elite few manipulate the financial system to serve their own interests, at the expense of everyone else.
And they’ll put you on the right side of a disconnect Nomi sees between the economy and the markets. Read on for today’s insight from Inside Wall Street contributing editor, Eoin Treacy…
What comes to mind when you hear the words “nuclear energy”?
Think about it for a moment…
Does it conjure up images of nuclear power plant disasters, like Fukushima or Chernobyl? Or does it make you think of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
If it does, you’re not alone. A lot of people still have negative views of nuclear energy.
But nuclear energy is, in fact, a much safer and more reliable option than other energy sources.
And for investors who understand this, nuclear energy presents a big profit opportunity.
Governments Want Clean Energy… But Are They Ready to Pay for It?
First, if you’re just joining us at Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins, welcome aboard. Our mission is to put you on the right side of the disconnect our editor, Nomi Prins, has identified between the markets and the real economy.
It’s the greatest discovery of Nomi’s life. And it could create the biggest wealth-building opportunities of your lifetime – if you know how to play it.
One of the trends at the crosshairs of this disconnect is “New Energy,” also known as green energy. Which brings us back to our nuclear story…
You see, there’s also a disconnect right now in the world of green energy. We saw this in November at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland.
The conference sought to secure global net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. And the way to do it, according to the organizers, is by phasing out the use of fossil fuels, curtailing deforestation, accelerating the switch to electric vehicles, and encouraging investment in renewables.
Right now, fossil fuels – including coal, oil, and natural gas – are the source of 80% of the world’s energy. According to the UN, resource extraction has more than tripled since 1970. That includes a 45% increase in the use of fossil fuels.
Speaking at COP26, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said “wholesale transformation of our carbon-intensive economies” would be required… And that it would take $100 trillion – $150 trillion over the next three decades to complete the global transition to clean energy.
But after two weeks of talks, meetings, and media sound bites, as COP26 concluded, 200 of the world’s governments agreed to implement the bare minimum of reforms.
The price of this “wholesale transformation,” it seems, was just too high.
With little real progress being made towards decarbonization, the world needs a solution that ensures safe, reliable, clean, and cheap energy.
And that’s where nuclear – and today’s big profit opportunity – comes in.
Nuclear Energy Is Safe
Nuclear must be considered as a key component of the zero-carbon solution.
That message came through loud and clear from COP26. In fact, COP26 has been described as a “landmark” for the nuclear energy industry.
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) – the policy organization of the nuclear technologies industry, based in Washington, D.C. – stated:
The bipartisan momentum around nuclear’s role in combatting climate change was evident at COP. Nuclear energy will play an important role in decarbonizing the energy sector.
But there are some popular misconceptions about nuclear energy that are delaying its adoption. So let’s address those here, starting with the main objection…
For decades, the general thinking has been that nuclear energy production is unsafe. And it’s not difficult to see why people have formed that opinion. High-profile disasters, like those I mentioned at the start of this essay, are still very much top of people’s minds.
But the World Nuclear Association explains that the production of nuclear energy is, in fact, much safer than the production of fossil fuel-based energy:
The use of nuclear energy for electricity generation can be considered extremely safe. Every year several hundred people die in coal mines to provide this widely used fuel for electricity. There are also significant health and environmental effects arising from fossil fuel use. Contrary to popular belief, nuclear power saves lives by displacing fossil fuel from the electricity mix.
In fact, according to data from the EU, World Bank, and Energy Information Administration (EIA), nuclear reactor sites are four times safer than wind farms and ten times safer than solar farms.
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Source: Sprott, quoting European Union, The World Bank, EIA, Radioactivity.eu. data as of 12/31/2020.
Nuclear Energy Is Reliable and Clean
And nuclear energy production is far more reliable than other sources.
According to the EIA, nuclear power plants are producing maximum power more than 93% of the time during the year. That’s up to 2 times more than natural gas and coal-based plants.
And, for obvious reasons, it is up to 3.5 times more reliable than wind and solar plants.
Just last month, the United Kingdom experienced dead-calm conditions. Electricity production from wind dropped from 25% to 7% of the total power generated.
Power prices spiked. Natural gas and coal-fired power stations had to be brought online in a hurry, in an attempt to make up the shortfall.
And it could not have happened at a worse time. Natural gas reserves were already close to record lows for this time of year.
Lastly, contrary to popular opinion, nuclear energy is already a vital source of clean energy here in the U.S. As the Office of Nuclear Energy, an office of the U.S. Department of Energy, states:
Nuclear energy has continually proven to be an incredible asset to our country. It has reliably generated 20% of our nation’s electricity since the early 90s and currently provides more than half of our clean power, which is more than all other sources of emissions-free power combined.
Take Advantage of This Market Distortion
Nuclear energy is safer, more reliable, and greener than the more traditionally accepted fuel sources.
But most of the world hasn’t caught on just yet…
We see this as part of the disconnect we mentioned earlier between the markets and reality.
And knowing how to take advantage of that disconnect is going to give you the edge in your investing and wealth-building journey.
The Global X Uranium ETF (URA) is one of the more popular investment vehicles for monitoring this trend. It holds 44 companies, including big names like Cameco and Paladin Energy.
It’s a good place to start your research, so you can get on the right side of the “New Energy,” green transition trend.
And we’ll be in touch in the months ahead with more ways to play it.
All the best,
Eoin Treacy
Contributing Editor, Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins
Maria’s Note: Stay tuned for more from Nomi and her team next week. They’ll show you ways to take advantage of the trends that will shape 2022. So look for the latest Inside Wall Street with Nomi Prins dispatch in your inbox at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
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