@nugger @white_male @givenup @Eiregoat you can already make plastics and fuel from biomass, no energy input needed

also you can conceivably make ice engines run on hho combustion with minimal mods (compared to the alternative)
If such a new energy source (probably hot fusion, not cold) was built up, the startup would be very fast. not "a new episode of goyslop show every day fast" but fast enough to not cause a significant downturn. You can build a powerplant and use all output to make new powerplants and production goes quadratic easily.
we could have built many fusion test reactors with all the money we tossed out the window for niggercattle feed lots and anal marriage programs