This article details Frank Shuman’s invention that utilized solar energy to heat water and thus produce steam for energy. He used this to create the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt, where the steam was enough to pump 23,000 liters of water per minute.

Solar power has come a long way. Subsequent developments by later inventors included the solar cell in 1941 and the solar panel in 1955. Today solar makes up only 0.5 percent of all U.S. energy, lagging far behind petroleum at 36.2 percent, natural gas at 29.0 percent, and coal at 16.1 percent. But after decades of near-dormancy the energy source is seeing an explosion in popularity, growing at nearly 60 percent a year as the price per installation plummets and finally becomes affordable to the average American consumer.

American Inventor Uses Egypt’s Sun for Power: Appliance Concentrates the Heat Rays and Produces Steam, Which Can Be Used to Drive Irrigation Pumps in Hot Climates

From July 2, 1916