Larsen, the fellow referenced earlier in this article, would dispute your argument ~ that it’s hot fusion ~ the theory he contributed to says much of that light is from the corona and there a different process prevails ~ which is simply not the same as ‘hot fusion’ which goes on INSIDE the stars and which is expressed, for the most part, at non-visible light frequencies.
ha. energy conversion, shmenergy conversion. tho i suppose photosynthesis and weather are driven by the sun's energy and thus began the cycle of fossil fuels which means my car is CURRENTLY hot-fusion powered (unless of course you give credence to abiogenesis in which case it's probably FISSION powered...).
But my sidebar is just a snark. I've often pondered decay sequences and wondered if they couldn't be used to power something, and beta decay especially makes me wonder if there is some reversible process. The interesting thing is the extra little energy bumps the decay products get. You might wonder if quantum tunneling could trigger an shift into a different decay chain which has more steps thus resulting in more energy production. Certainly we can make it happen with neutrons or gamma.
That's why widom-larsen is intriguing for me. Presently the "anomalous" energy production just that, a hint of something unusual.