personally i don't really believe free energy systems will be a reality in the near future however there will be big changes in the energy department and these will be driven by crypto through mining.
all predictions of energy consumption where based on growing efficiency meaning lower consumption but that's out the window as crypto mining causes a large uptrend in consumption and rising.
in previous years we have seen (at least in europe) strong promotion of lower energy usage on lighting with the introduction of various technologies and the banning of older ones which made sense because it saved money by lowering electric bills.
mining however significantly raises power consumption and generates income so has a strong incentive to grow.
this will cause the implementation of new reactor types and upgrades to the network because a) influx of money and b) steep rise in demand.
why new reactors and not solar panels or wind farms ?
because they can't keep up as they are too weak in power delivery.
this will cause us to finally get rid of the old crap and bring in the new stuff that has been collecting dust for decades...