Some readers will object that I have been unfair to the “one huge thing” model. They will argue that “one huge thing” projects—for instance, nuclear power plants—are hamstrung by public opinion, hostile governments, and the burdens of excessive safety and environmental regulation. Break the chains, they say, and those projects could perform just as well as or better than their modular competitors, wind and solar power. It’s an interesting hypothesis. Fortunately, a natural experiment put it to the test and we have the results.
