There's no single inventor of solar power. It's more accurate to say that solar power evolved over time through contributions from many individuals and cultures. Here's a brief timeline:

* Ancient Times: The concept of using sunlight for heat and light existed in ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. They used mirrors to focus sunlight for various purposes.

* 1839: French physicist Alexandre Edmond Becquerel discovered the photovoltaic effect, the foundation for modern solar cells. He observed that shining light on an electrode in an electrolyte solution produced an electric current.

* 1873: British scientist Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium, a material crucial for early solar cells.

* 1883: American inventor Charles Fritts created the first practical solar cell using selenium. It had a low efficiency of about 1%.

* 1954: Bell Laboratories developed the first practical silicon solar cell with an efficiency of about 6%. This was a significant breakthrough that paved the way for widespread solar power use.

Therefore, instead of attributing the invention to a single person, it's more accurate to recognize the contributions of many individuals and the evolution of the technology over centuries.