In the June edition of the Reader's Digest magazine (Canadian) you can read an article (from The Daily Telegraph) by the most respected science-fiction writer, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, with his predictions for the 21-st century.
His predictions have proved uncannily accurate before and he is also famous for researching the subjects he is talking/writing about very well!For our topic, two years are relevant (quote):
"2002 - The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by low-temperature nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of the fosil-fuel age...
2009 - The first quantum generators (tapping space energy) are developed. Available in portable and household units, from a few kilowatts upward, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down: The age of pylons ends..." (end quote).
