Shuman built the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt, between 1912 and 1913. Shuman’s plant used parabolic troughs to power a 45–52 kilowatts (60–70 hp) engine that pumped more than 22,000 litres (4,800 imp gal; 5,800 US gal) of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields. Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman’s vision and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy. In 1916 Shuman was quoted in the media advocating solar energy's utilization, saying:
Where did Shuman build the world's first solar thermal power station? How many liters of water per minute did Shuman's engine pump in litres? In what decade were Shuman's ideas about solar energy revived? Where was the first solar thermal power plant built? What was used to power the plants engine? From what river did the engine pump water? What slowed down the growth of solar energy? When was the interest in solar energy restored?