Solar power is nothing new.

Augustin Mouchot was a 19th-century French inventor of the earliest solar-powered engine, converting solar energy into mechanical steam power.

http://solarenergy.com/power-panels/history-solar-energy

History of Solar Energy - Solar Energy.com

solarenergy.com

A detailed history of solar energy for residential, commercial and industrial systems. Learn the history of solar and find aninstaller at SolarEnergy.com

http://www.johnericsson.org/history.htm