Crossword Genius

Scattered beams with energy (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sparse

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'scattered' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'beams with energy' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'energy' could be 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mc2) and 'e' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'spars' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sparse that I've seen before include "Thin on the ground, scarce" , "not packed together" , "In short supply" , "Thinly populated" , "Far from lavish" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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