My comment is similar to Ray's, the energy source needs to be identified. To me it is obviously solar, but it is amazing how many folk think that it can't sustain us.
It can, easily, and even sustain continued growth, but the first catch is that it needs to be distributed, and the second is that money needs to be issued on it for free. Energy companies hate the first part, and banks hate the second part.
Solar power is decentralisation of energy, just like cryptocurrencies are decentralisation of money. The two are very much interlinked, free money means free energy, and vice versa. With either we have both.
The original Nikola Tesla knew that, and tried to deliver it to us more than 120 years ago, but was defunded by none other than JP Morgan, who was his only funder.
The solar Joules captured and put to use over the past twenty odd years represent an awful lot of unmonetised product, and money issue is supposed to balance with issue of product, otherwise the money has to devalue, because it is not the money that has value, but the energy put to use. So we see inflation that will not stop until this is put right, the only way it can be, by issue of free money.
We can put in an awful lot of community solar infrastructure when that money is finally issued as stimulus, and the infrastructure it creates will scale up the further money that can be issued.
Join all communities together with a hydrogen fuel ecosystem, directly replacing the current fossil fuel ecosystem, and the job is done; all places have 24/7 power (Backed up by hydrogen generated from earlier solar), and all transportation has fuel from the excess.
I am guessing you didn't know batteries can be replaced with reversible hydrogen based fuel cells, to achieve dual electrical / hydrogen charging and instant refueling capability. Musk denies this, calling fuel cells "Stupid", because his company is doing just fine with batteries, but technically, a reversible fuel cell solution, even an aftermarket one, is a relatively small engineering challenge, as is conversion of internal combustion engines and pipelines to work with hydrogen.
The real barrier to this is big business, which has become dependent on big sources of centralised energy, as is available by grids. But most folk would probably agree it is way past the time when we should take the wind out of their sails.
The defence companies will have to go along with it, when it is presented as an issue of National security in all countries. Their Engineering expertise can be quickly refocused on the technical challenges of making the required change.
Personally I see the next growth phase being much bigger than any seen previously, like the growth of a plant after it forms leaves and goes solar powered, why would we be any different, and why should we always assume our output to Earth after we go solar powered will be any less beneficial to Earth than that of adult plants?
The main difference from previous growth is that the next phase will be solar powered, and subsequently, pretty much all business (at least those not dependent on fossil fuels), will become distributed, it seems to me.
It could all happen very quickly if issue of stimulus similar to that issued during coved, ie 4Tn per month in US, started again tomorrow, we could be in the finishing phases of worldwide implementation in only a year or so. Vietnam showed what is possible, with only a moderate incentive. We could do much better with significant stimulus, and we have the technical knowledge to add the hydrogen backbone which Vietnam is missing.
