

It’s all about weight when going to space. It’s one of the basic parts of rocket science. If you want to send 1 pound into space, you need to add gas to cover that weight, and the weight of the gas you add. Eventually you reach a point where the combined weight of the gas is more than the thrust it provides and you can’t add more. Solar is light, a few hours of no power isn’t a big deal over months or years of operation time, if you are confident things will come back on when there’s light again.
Go back to the stone age and drop modern steel tools and weapons where a tribe could find them. That tribe would likely become dominant and perhaps change everything.