What could have been: solar power in colonial India

A short article on solar powered steam engines in the 1870's.

My unsung hero of science: William Adams, the Bombay bureaucrat whose vision of a solar future was dashed by colonial conservatism https://share.google/oPAVp91Qda7WVVoYS

Thank you William, this is an edifying piece of the solar puzzle.  Like many a brilliant visionary, this man was disregarded by the mantra " but we have always done it THIS way".
No good deed goes unpunished.

A modern type of solar steam generation is up and running out in the California desert.  This idea was not forgotten, though it's turning out that photoelectric panels plus battery storage is a more cost-effective method to generate electricity.

https://www.energy.ca.gov/powerplant/solar-thermal/mojave-solar-project

High-voltage residential solar panels are now dirt-cheap that anyone can build a functional off-grid solar system these days.  I'd recommend focusing your attention (and solar rays) in that direction.

Super interesting!  Thanks for posting this.