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(1860 - 1880): Scientist Constructs First Solar-Powered Steam Engines

French mathematician August Mouchet conceives the solar-power steam engine. Mouchet and his assistant Abel Pifre build the world’s first true solar-powered engines and use them for a number of applications. The Mouchet engine is the predecessor of modern parabolic dish collectors. [US Department of Energy, 2002 pdf file]