Doomberg on Energy - WBD599

Doomberg is an anonymous collective producing the world’s most
popular financial substack. In this interview, we discuss the
roots of the 2022 energy crisis, why nuclear power needs to be
the basis of our energy needs, and how pragmatic decision-making
is needed if we’re to best fulfil our energy needs.


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Just a few years ago energy was abundant and cheap. The oil
crisis of the 1970s was a historical anomaly. The assumed
understanding was that between governments, major energy
companies and the markets, energy provision was becoming more
reliable and cost-effective. The Russian invasion of Ukraine
showed how paper-thin this impression of the energy sector was.


Systemic underinvestment in energy infrastructure, particularly
nuclear, has left the industry vulnerable to shocks. And Ukraine
has been a heck of a shock. Long-term political strategies for
energy provision have had to be rewritten in real-time. The
market, unsurprisingly, has been volatile to the upside. One in
three UK families are expected to be in fuel poverty in 2023.


But, obviously, energy is not a discretionary spend. We all need
a minimum material quantum just to survive. It is clear, now
we’re self-rationing energy, how vital it is to our way of life.
Humans flourish with access to energy. The flipside is a
retardation of civilisation. So, whilst limitless cheap energy is
still decades away, can we supply sufficient energy for our
society to prosper?


Fundamentally, are we making the right decisions to facilitate
the best use of resources? Nuclear power is both reliable,
efficient, safe and direct power generation that is carbon-free.
Why has investment been curtailed? Material bottlenecks mean we
can’t produce enough batteries for EVs. So why aren’t we
maximising the benefits of battery tech through use of hybrids?


Ideology and nimbyism have counterproductive effects: serious
harm is outsourced to the poorer areas of the world whilst
leaving us with insufficient infrastructure at home. Clearly,
decisions need to remove dogma and deal with the world as it is.
The frustration is that we have the skills and knowledge to
resolve this situation. We just need to bring pragmatism out of
the dark.