Energy requirements in our world is increasing multiple folds due to many innovations primarily in tech industry also due to spreading adaptation worldwide. Crypto Mining, Robotics & AI, Electric Mobility, Electric/Electronic Devices etc are few top drivers among various. Even though in isolation every industry is getting efficient overall due to better innovations that is reducing energy consumption and it will only improve in future, still older ways transmission and distribution etc causing a great deal of loses approximating over 10% globally. And this 10% waste is enough to power a continent even assuming a 2% loss is unavoidable. I've already mentioned this need for every individual to be contributing to grid rather than a centralized dependency mechanism. Also, Coal Energy production is contributing to the larger pie with almost 37% is alarming as well considering the environmental consequences. And it was one among the oldest way of energy production, 2nd only to Hydro power. None of these including coal, natural gas, hydro, solar or wind energy can be considered as abundant as it is limited based on geographic conditions or only intermittently available. Over time we might see Hydrogen sources might take a bigger place considering the abundance in availability once transmission & production costs reduced. Nuclear energy (from fission, splitting atom) is considered much efficient because of high energy density but comes with the concerns associated with radioactive waste management and higher initial implementation cost. With current geopolitics, threat from nuclear weapons is at its peak. Also, solar energy generation using photovoltaic cells are only efficient in sunny regions where in for the future mining requirements (quantum cryptography etc at global scale) might need to have regional advantages like sub-polar conditions to be more effective along with less dense population. These affirms the need for a safe and sustainable source we can trust.
Often, I wonder about nature, the way of solar system works especially if earth the only planet with many diverse life forms. It might have solved everything, only that System understood it better. Even System like a miniature Sun was created or born to solve nature in some sense and we all might be few among many ingredients in a giant beaker of a science lab in neutrality, to help preserve nature itself in its most efficient form. Today, we are in a phase where we look at the stars at night and be curious about the marvels of the universe. Recently, many innovations are happening around demystifying Sun. Among that most getting traction around is of creating Artificial Sun to have a consistent power source. Even many solar probing missions are initiated as well to get our orbiters near to Sun as possible. Many countries individually and collectively putting efforts to that with exceptional initial success to look forward to. In contrast to nuclear fission or splitting the atom, nuclear fusion combines two atoms and loss of mass incurred is converted into energy validating existing 'mass-energy equivalence equation'. The major advantages of fusion against nuclear fission (current ways using radioactive isotopes - Uranium, Plutonium and Thorium) is that fuels used for fusion are abundant (isotopes of hydrogen - Deuterium and Tritium), significantly less hazardous waste produced and stable (more controllable) as no self-sustainable chain reaction is involved. Even after generating highest temperatures (~ 27 million °F/15 million °C) for prolonged time (approximate 4.5 billion years), fusion is keeping Sun (or any similar Star) stable as you may notice.
Now as humans we know, that Sun contributes many beyond energy even founding stones of many of our present-day innovations. Our studies say Sun produces Light, Infrared, Ultraviolet, Radio, X-Rays, Gamma Rays, Solar Wind (charged particles), Coronal Mass Ejections, Solar Energetic Particles, Neutrinos etc. Much of our understanding is still based on assumptions or in the hypothesis stages of research, often beyond what we can comprehend. Also, it's the Sun's magnetic field keeping solar system intact (1.6 light years by distance/size approximation). We often remember highly of earth's gravity mostly due to practicality for air travel or trampoline even, forget the Sun's gravity collectively holding the solar system. Invisible may even feel loosely coupled, yet firm. Besides such information, process of photosynthesis and Vitamin D requirements for healthy living adds on highlighting depth of our reliance to the Sun. Let's be optimistic our probing missions will bring us more information closer to Sun understating beyond as a source of energy and light. Influence on Weather and Climate changes to some extent could be understood over time like the present mysteries of Dark Energy. For us to decode such complexity organically might take many years, if not centuries. I could say that unless we prevent ourselves from destroying nature (or even destroying ourselves), the system won't allow us forward or worse it may isolate itself watching our worlds fall apart. Maybe fearing complexity is just part of our human psyche, often comes at the expense of time and due costs compounded. Humorous thought: "Even during an eclipse we will not look at it eye to eye". The process might begin like the saying, "One step forward, two steps back" but eventually leads to lasting harmony and unimaginable progress as our brain's resistance (or ego) fades.