Solar Cooking
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==Events==
 
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===Articles in the media===
 
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*{{NewMar15}}'''March 2015:''' [http://www.moneylife.in/article/will-mini-micro-solar-remain-a-toy-for-the-middle-class-and-rich-in-india/40795.html Will mini-micro solar remain a toy for the middle-class and rich in India?] - ''Moneylife''
*'''March 2015:''' [http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150309/jsp/odisha/story_7594.jsp#.VP2_RSnEhtc Fair Glow in Solar Energy]
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*'''March 2015:''' [http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150309/jsp/odisha/story_7594.jsp#.VP2_RSnEhtc Fair Glow in Solar Energy] - ''The Telegraph''
 
*'''February 2015:''' [http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21642172-narendra-modi-should-learn-chinas-mistakes-its-too-late-indian-winter?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/indianwinter Pollution in India and China: Indian winter] - ''The Economist''
 
*'''February 2015:''' [http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21642172-narendra-modi-should-learn-chinas-mistakes-its-too-late-indian-winter?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/indianwinter Pollution in India and China: Indian winter] - ''The Economist''
 
*'''January 2015:''' [http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/children-to-learn-about-clean-solar-cookers-on-festival-day-1.1441341 Children to learn about clean solar cookers on festival day] - ''gulfnews.com''
 
*'''January 2015:''' [http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/children-to-learn-about-clean-solar-cookers-on-festival-day-1.1441341 Children to learn about clean solar cookers on festival day] - ''gulfnews.com''

Revision as of 02:04, 15 March 2015

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Events

Featured international events

SE for ALL forum logo 2024, 10-3-23
  • 4-6 June 2024 (Bridgetown, Barbados): Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum - The event will be co-hosted by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the government of Barbados. It is a platform for government, business and finance leaders, entrepreneurs, and youth and community representatives from around the world to come together to broker new partnerships, spur new investment, and address challenges at the nexus of energy, climate, and development. More information...

Online events

Requests for proposal

  • Decentralized Renewable Energy Solutions utilizing Solar and Bio-Energy - Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments of ScienceDirect, is requesting guest-author submissions. The special issue, VSI: DRES is devoted to publishing research articles reporting the innovative designs and design interventions in solar thermal and bio-energy for decentralized energy systems (DES). It includes i) new and novel designs of prototype or commercial devices and technologies, their development, modeling and simulations and experimental validation; ii) innovations for processes, techniques, utilization, and applications; iii) novel use of materials for improving efficiency, performance, techno-economic feasibility, and sustainability and iv) research findings addressing the socio-economic, health and safety impacts, and life cycle assessments leading to proposing novel devices for DES. The Deadline for submission is 31 July 2024. More submittal information...
See also: Global Calendar of Events and past events in India

Most significant projects

Worlds_Largest_Solar_Cooking_Class

Worlds Largest Solar Cooking Class

2,044 middle school students learn to prepare lunch with solar cooking.

  • January 2013: World's largest solar cooking class takes place in India - On January 19, 2013, middle school students gathered on the grounds of JES College in Jalna, India to be trained in the use of a simple solar panel cooker. After a quick breakfast, and guidance from 205 trainers, a record-breaking 2,044 students assembled their own solar cooker and placed prepared ingredients inside to cook. After speaker presentations, they were able to enjoy the lunch they had cooked themselves. This event, sponsored by Simplified Technology for Life, demonstrates that India is quite serious about introducing solar cooking to young students. Ajay Chandak reports that included in the Indian government's five-year plan for 2012 through 2016, 30,000 million INR (approx. $600,000,000USD) is budgeted for solar cooking instruction in 500,000 schools.
Shirdi roof collector array

Shirdi roof collector array

Shirdi collector diagram

Shirdi collector array diagram

Shirdi cooking photo

Cooking in the kitchen at Shirdi

  • April 2010: Gadhia Solar Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. recently completed installation of an enormous solar steam cooking system, capable of cooking 40,000-50,000 meals per day. It is located at Shirdi Saibaba temple in Shirdi, Maharashtra, India. With nearly 30,000 visitors each day, the temple’s dining halls are some of the largest in India. The solar steam cooking system is comprised of seventy-three rooftop-mounted Scheffler reflectors of sixteen square meters each. The dishes concentrate sunlight on receivers that contain water, generating steam that is piped down to the kitchen for cooking purposes. To maintain constant focus with the sun, the dishes automatically rotate throughout the day after being manually aligned once each morning. The solar steam cooking system is retrofitted to existing liquid petroleum gas-powered steam boilers that are still used in the evening and during prolonged periods of inclement weather. Though the solar steam cooking system cost nearly $300,000, government subsidies reduced the temple’s portion to about $170,000. Liquid petroleum gas use has been cut by roughly 100,000 kilograms each year, for an annual savings of approximately $45,000. The temple should recoup its investment in three to four years. According to company founder Deepak Gadhia, the solar steam cooking technology was originally developed in Germany. However, the equipment does not contain imported components and is manufactured with local machinery and labor, creating much-needed jobs. Gadhia has adapted the system for use in India, and has installed 50 such systems of varying sizes over the past two decades. The March edition of CNN’s Eco Solutions program highlights the Shirdi Saibaba temple solar steam cooking system.

News and Recent Developments

Janak McGilligan

Janak McGilligan

  • February 2015: India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is inviting comments on its Draft Solar Policy - Sunday, March 1, 2015 will be the deadline for comments. The ten-page document, available here, outlines some of the government department’s thinking. “The Nodal Agency shall take necessary action to proliferate its application in feasible sectors including residential (solar water heaters, solar cookers, indoor air heating etc.), commercial & industrial sector (solar cooling, solar air dryers, large scale solar water heaters, large scale solar cooking utilizing solar concentrator technology, process heating etc.).” Read more...
Keshav Srushti 1

Thousands of students gather in Mumbai, India for a record-breaking solar cooking event.

  • January 2015: 15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record - 15,000 students from 80 schools in Mumbai, India set a new world-record for the largest ever solar cooking gathering organized by Keshav Srushti. Each student was given a solar cooker and taught how to use it as part of a national campaign to spread awareness of the importance of solar technology. C Vidyasagar Rao, governor of Maharashtra and Ashish Shelar, minister of state, Power, Coal & New Renewable Energy, attended the record-setting gathering. Read more at: Over 15,000 students create a new world-record in solar cooking
  • January 2015: Annual Maha SuryaKumba reaches for a lofty goal - The Bhayander based NGO, Keshav Srushti, is committed to spreading awareness of solar cooking. Under the banner of Maha SuryaKumba, they will be gathering students from 500 schools across Mumbai in Bhayander,India, and then will be taking the festival to remote tribal villages. Hoping this year reach the magic number of 100,000 solar-powered prepared meals! Keshav Srushti has been accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records for having conducted the largest solar oven cooking class in January 2014 with 3,639 participants from 62 schools. The new goal of reaching so many students from remote areas will require financial support beyond the means of Keshav Srushti. Please contact Keshav Srushti If you can help, it will be appreciated. The NGO has announced there will now be an annual Maha SuryaKumba held on January 15th. More information...
  • September 2014: Bhubaneswar: The state government will provide solar chullahs to 500 households inside Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary. This was done to reduce load on firewood, which the villagers collect from the sanctuary. There are around 5,000 households in the reserve, but initially 10% will be provided with the solar cooking device. The panchayati raj and forest departments will jointly conduct survey to identify the families to be given the chullah. A private party will donate the chullahs to the forest department. - Read more... - Times of India
ARUN 100 at Akshardham, 8-12-14

The ARUN 100 solar cooking array at the Akshardham Temple, New Delhi, India.

  • August 2014: International solar cooking expert, Ajay Chandak, has written about the recent installation of steam generating solar cooking systems at The Akshardham Temple located in New Delhi and at the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home, Mylapore, Chennai. The Akshardham Temple system is now able to serve 2,000 - 3,000 meals on a clear sunny day, saving approximately 30 to 50 scm of PNG each day in operation. MNRE has partly funded this installation and Clique Solar has manufactured and installed the system. The system at the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home as been adapted with the ability to store the excess heat generated mid-day to be able to cook very early in the day and after sunset. Read his reports: ARUN®100 Installation at Akshardham Temple, New Delhi and ARUN®100 with Thermal Storage at Ramkrishna Mission, Chennai - Ajay Chandak
  • August 2014: A Bhayander based NGO, Keshav Srushti, in a bid to spread awareness on solar cooking, will be gathering students from 500 schools across Mumbai to cook solar-powered dishes. Keshav Srushti has been accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records for having conducted the largest solar oven cooking class in January 2014 with 3639 participants from 62 schools. Invigorated by the success, the NGO has announced an annual Maha Suryakumbh on January 15, 2015, is aiming to reach 25,000 schools students. More information...
  • April 2014:
    Indore Solar Food Processing Network article April 2014
  • March 2014: Rural schools receive solar cooking sysytems - Ajay Chandak wants to update the solar cooking community that a Scheffler Community Kitchen has been installed and tested at the Aapla Ghar school for homeless rural children located in Naldurg, India. After cooking their first meal on this solar system the students and management were more than happy. He brings particular attention and notice of appreciation to the local M.P. Dr. Ashok Ganguly, who arranged financing of the project through their M.P fund, contributing $23,000 USD to the project. Also, another Scheffler system is to be opened soon at an orphanage located in Dhule.
  • February 2014: The Jawahar Navodiya Vidyalya school is saving $23,000 in annual fuel costs - The residential school Jawahar Navodiya Vidyalya located in Ladakh, India appreciates having their solar cooking system, which is saving them $23,000 USD in annual fuel costs. More than 570 students and staff members are served daily meals. "It is not only very easy to operate, but it provides us [with] hot water for washing the dishes in the cold season," says Tashi, one of the kitchen staff. The arid desert region is known as the "land of high passes". Previously, remote areas like this one have had to rely on kerosene and firewood for heating and cooking, and considerable money was being spent simply getting kerosene delivered. Read more... - Asia Times Online
  • January 2014: School in North Coimbatore begins solar cooking mid-day meals Two PRINCE - 40 institutional parabolic solar cookers will soon be cooking noon meals for students at a school in North Coimbatore. Each PRINCE unit (designed by Professor Ajay Chandak) costs 68,000 Indian rupees ($1,000 USD) and includes a 35-liter (32 quart) pressure cooker. The first two units will be used on a test basis. If successful, the municipality will order PRINCE cookers for all sixteen schools in the region. The Indian National Ministry of New and Renewable Energy provides a sixty percent subsidy for the solar cookers, which will cut expenses by reducing the consumption of LPG and wood. On December 9, 2013 Professor Ajay Chandak, a global leader in the solar thermal cooking sector, was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES). Chandak will represent "Solar Heating and Cooling". ISES is a UN-accredited NGO that is active in over 110 countries.
Mumbai largest solar cooking class, 17-14

As many as 3,484 children from over 80 schools participated in the world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai, India.

  • January 2014: India raises the bar for the world's largest solar cooking class - "As many as 3,484 children from over 80 schools participated in the largest solar cooking initiative Suryakumbh on January 4th, which has qualified as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records. The emergence of renewable sources of energy as an answer to the imminent exhaustion of conventional energy sources pushed a Bhayander NGO, Keshav Srushti, to start with the most influential members of society, children." - dna The class was held in Mumbai, India. Read more...
Scheffler reflector, girl's hostel in Jaipur, 12-16-13

A Scheffler reflector used in the solar cooking systems installed in Jaipur, India.

  • December 2013: Government sponsored solar cooking systems installed in Jaipur - Two state run hostels for girls in Jaipur, India, have installed Scheffler Community Kitchen solar cooking systems to meet the cooking needs for 600 students. Each system has four dishes of 16 square meters and will help conserve 4,500 kgs of liquefied cooking gas (LPG) annually assuming about 275 normal sunny days. It is estimated the pay back will be less than 4 years and reduce the financial burden to the state government. Read more...
GlobolSol solar food dryer India, 11-26-13

Alec Gagneux of GloboSol worked with local craftspeople to build a solar food dryer in in Madhya Pradesh, India.

  • November 2013: GloboSol introduces solar cooking technology and bio-mass stoves in Madhya Pradesh, India - Alec Gagneux, of GloboSol, spent several months at one of the Ekta Parishad ashrams in the city of Katni in central India last spring. He demonstrated the value of using the simple technologies of solar cooking, solar food drying and bio-mass stoves. With the help of local craftspeople, the group assembled their own food dryers and solar cookers. During his stay, Alec met local residents who were willing to organize more demonstrations at local schools, intended to help draw the attention of local political leaders. Read more at:Report India 2013
Sun Focus magazine cover, 11-18-13
  • November 2013: Solar cooking receives a new platform to speak from - The second edition of Sun Focus, a quarterly magazine devoted to concentrated solar heat has just been released. The new publication from India was founded by Dr Farooq Addullah. He explains that the magazine will focus on off-grid applications of concentrated solar technologies (CSTs) for the purpose of saving fuel oil, firewood, and LPG in industrial and commercial establishments using heat between 80 °C and 250 °C. Solar cooking plays a major role in the content. This latest edition's cover article is devoted to the latest developments of the Scheffler Community Kitchen, written by noted solar cooking designer and advocate for solar cooking education in public schools, Ajay Chandak. Read his article on page 11. Scheffler Solar Concentrators in India - Sun Focus
  • October 2013: The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency reports that Haryana is one of the few states in the country where solar cookers are being promoted by providing subsidy on box/dish type solar cooker. The Govt. of India is also promoting dish type solar cookers by providing subsidy@ Rs.2100/- per Sq. meter of the collector area limited to 30 % cost of the cooker and box type solar cookers @ Rs. 3600/- per sq. Meter of the collector area. During the year 2011-12, there was a target of distribution of 1750 solar cookers in the state with state subsidy provision of Rs. 20.0 lacs. During the year 2012-13, there is a target of 500 Dish type solar cookers & 1000 box type solar cookers with a state budget of Rs. 17.50 lac.
  • September 2013: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a public company in Ahmedabad, India, is distributing solar box cookers to villagers as part of a conservation program designed to make people aware that by using solar cookers to bake and simmer they can save their LPG for specific cooking needs and save money by reducing their consumption of this expensive fuel without having to give it up entirely. For more information, contact Devang Joshi at Rudra Solar Energy.
Mount Abu Scheffler installation, 7-23-13

Scheffler Community Kitchen in Taleti, near Mount Abu

  • July 2013: Scheffler solar kitchen installed at Mt. Abu spiritual center -The Scheffler Community Kitchen has been installed as a collaboration between the Academy for a Better World and Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, with technology from Solare Brücke, Germany. With 84 receivers and cooking at 650 degrees, the system can produce up to 38,500 meals a day when the sun is at its peak. Read more...
Solar cooker training - Barli Institute - May 2013

26 women trainees of the 104th batch along with Mr. Yogesh Jadhav (COO) and Mrs. Tahera Jadhav (Director) of Barli Development Institute for Rural Women, Indore, India.

  • May 2013: It was a solar week at Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in which a week-long solar cooker training of SK-14 solar cookers was organised at the Institute's campus (5-11 May 2013). The training was attended by 26 trainee-women of the outgoing 104th batch of women trainees. The rural and tribal women trainees eagerly learnt the process of assembling the solar cookers, cooking various dishes, and maintaining the cookers. The training was conducted by Mr. Yogesh Jadhav (Chief Operating Officer, Barli Institute) who took over from Mr. Jimmy McGilligan when he retired from the Institute in April 2011. After the training each of the trainees promised to save the environment and use the solar cookers.
  • April 2013: LPG cylinder replacment is slow and unpredictable - Gautam Raja reports that is his area gas customers will first receive two cylinders of fuel when they establish their gas service. But when they run out, replacement can take over two weeks. Deliveries arrive unannounced, so the customer may miss it, and have to start the process all over again. Many residents have switched over to electrical induction cook tops, but the power supply can be less than reliable. Concerned about missing his morning chai, Gautam then discovered solar cookers, and was amazed by their capabilities. They help fill the gap, that is until the monsoon season. Read more...
  • February 2013: Solar cooking and processing workshops in India - Celestino Ruivo, of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia da Universidade do Algarve in Portugal, traveled to India at the end of January to attend the 1st International Solar Food Processing Network workshop at the Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. He brought with him 50 kg. of solar cooking bagage: 8 black pots, 16 glasses of windows cloth washing machines, corrugated sheet metal, reflective foil and tools to make low cost and effective portable funnel cookers. Creatively, Celestino used his suitcase as the mold to construct examples of his solar funnel cooker in concrete. He also gave a lecture about solar cooking and how to construct a funnel cooker at the CT institute in Punjab for more than 300 students, as well teaching solar cooking for ladies in domestic context at Jalandhar. The eight funnel cookers were donated to friends in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Muni Seva Ashram, Vadodara, Jalandhar and New Delhi.
Solar Food Processing Network group photo, 2-14-14

Participants at the 2013 Solar Food Processing Network conference.

  • February 2013: The Solar Food Processing Network (SFPN) held a regional workshop in January 2013 at the Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. This gathering was a follow-up to the 2009 AFPN conference held in Indore, India in 2010. Workshop participants heard from food marketing and technology experts. Conference organizers, Deepak Gadhia and Rolf Behringer held discussions on local and international marketing, village industries, packaging, policy interventions, R&D, and effective monitoring and evaluation of projects. Attendees discussed the formation of an international solar food standard and shared their own practical experiences using solar technology for food processing. Visit the Solar Food Processing Network to see a muscial video of the event and videos of solar food processing projects in Burkina Faso.
Worlds_Largest_Solar_Cooking_Class

Worlds Largest Solar Cooking Class

2,044 middle school students learn to prepare lunch with solar cooking.

  • January 2013: World's largest solar cooking class takes place in India - On January 19, 2013, middle school students gathered on the grounds of JES College in Jalna, India to be trained in the use of a simple solar panel cooker. After a quick breakfast, and guidance from 205 trainers, a record-breaking 2,044 students assembled their own solar cooker and placed prepared ingredients inside to cook. After speaker presentations, they were able to enjoy the lunch they had cooked themselves. This event, sponsored by Simplified Technology for Life, demonstrates that India is quite serious about introducing solar cooking to young students.
Parabolic_solar_cooker_(Demo)

Parabolic solar cooker (Demo)

The PRINCE - 40 is demonstrated at the rural schools.

WORT training demonstration, 1-5-13

A field demonstration of the PRINCE - 40 parabolic cooker.

  • January 2013: Parabolic community solar cookers used for midday meals in rural schools - WOTR is a nonprofit organization that has been operating in five Indian states since the early nineties. They have untaken a unique solar cooking project targeting Zilla Parishad primary schools in the Sangamner and Akole taluka of the Ahmadnagar district. The objective was to find ways to help prepare their midday meal. Currently, twenty-three solar cookers are in service. After a careful study of all options, it was decided to deploy the PRINCE - 40 parabolic solar cooker, designed by Ajay Chandak, for the pilot installation in fifty-three villages across three states – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. Most of the schools where these cookers are installed are using them as main source of energy for the mid-day meals. Read more about the project at: A Report on Deployment of Parabolic Community Solar Cookers for Midday Meals in Rural Schools
See older news...


The History of Solar Cooking in India

India, Asia's second largest country, next to China, has also the second largest number of solar cookers. The situation in India is more complex than that of China. More is also known about Indian programs. The Third World Conference on Solar Cooking was held in India, permitting the history and progress of solar the technology's uses to become better known around the world.

An official government report informs the reader that the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Government of India, was established in 1982, first as a Department and later as a Ministry. The Ministry's mandate extends well beyond solar cooking, including fuel efficient wood and charcoal stoves, power from other renewable sources, energy from industrial wastes, research and development in a number of related fields (photovoltaics, biogas, and pollution prevention, for example). MNES began seriously to promote solar cooking in the early 80s, with an initial focus almost entirely on the box cooker.

The population of India is roughly 70% rural. MNES states that "cooking accounts for a major share of the total energy consumption in rural homes (Singhal, correspondence, 2003, p. 1). Sources of that energy are largely fuelwood, animal dung, or crop residues, all of which emit smoke, pollute the atmosphere, and are deterimental to health and safety of family members, particularly women. Fuelwood is become scarcer each year. FAO data show that 21.6% of the Indian land mass is forested, and conservation efforts are in place to reverse previous loss. The effort is affected by the large and dense population and a slowing but still substantial birth rate (continuing to increase at 1.7% per annum, or 17% in a decade). Solar cooking has been viewed as one way to alleviate a number of India's problems and as such was supported by government efforts.

The Press Bureau of the Government of India reported in 2007 that there are 525,000 solar cookers installed in India.[1] The Press Bureau also reported in 2003 that, "The solar cooker programme has been expanded by introducing new designs for community use. Three solar steam cooking systems based on automatic tracking concentrating collective technology for cooking food for 600-3,000 people per day, and one system based on ‘Solar Bowl’ technology, have been installed. World's largest solar steam cooking system has been installed at Tirumala Tirupati. The system is designed to cook two meals for 15,000 persons in one day. Another system for 2,000 people was erected at Brahmakumaris Ashram in Gurgaon in July, 2002. Three community cookers for indoor cooking have been installed at a training hostel and an NGO’s establishment in Leh. In all, six such systems have been installed under the MNES demonstration scheme. A total of 500 dish solar cookers and 60 community solar cookers have been installed so far."[2]

Archived articles

Culture and Economics

Solar Cookers International has rated India as the #1 country worldwide for solar cooking potential. In the year 2020, the estimated number of people in India who will suffer from fuel scarcity is 157,400,000, but these people will continue to have ample access to the sun. In December 2007, the Indian Government instituted a program of rebates on various renewable energy devices including solar cookers. Solar cooking has even been recommended in the Rig Veda, a sacred Hindu text, stating: "All edibles ripened or cooked in the sun’s rays change into super medicine, the amrita."

India Solar Resource map, 12-3-12

India Solar Resource Map provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory


Fuels used for cooking

URBAN SECTOR

  • LPG (47.96%)
  • Firewood (22.74%)
  • Kerosene (19.16%) and
  • Other fuels(10.14)

RURAL SECTOR

  • Firewood (64.10%)
  • Other sources of biomass – crop residue (13.10%)
  • Cow‐dung (12.80%), and
  • LPG (5.67%) is now increasing in importance. [1]

In a February 7th, 2015 article, The Economist reported that there are roughly 1 million deaths in India each year due to cooking fires[2].

Fuel subsidies

The Economic Times of India reports:

While 300 million people live below poverty line, making do with energy inefficient dung cakes, twigs and branches, and occasional bits of coal, the urban middle class and the rural rich are splurging on cheap petrol and diesel and even cheaper kerosene and liquified petroleum gas.
The subsidy is massive - hidden by a disingenuous device called oil bonds. Here are some rock solid facts. IOC, HPCL and BPCL are currently losing $137 million a day (i.e., Rs 582 crore per day at Rs 42.50 = $1). They lose Rs 16.34 for each litre of petrol, and Rs 23.49 for each litre of diesel sold in Delhi.
The subsidy on kerosene at Rs 28.72 per litre is over three times the current retail price; and the subsidy on a cylinder of cooking gas at Rs 306 per cylinder exceeds the retail price. The total under-recovery for the oil marketing companies for 2006-07 was over $19 billion. With oil prices touching $135, under-recoveries can be $50 billion this year, unless retail prices are substantially increased.[3]

The Telegraph (UK) reported in September 2013 that, "Food and fuel subsidies are gobbling up much of the budget, while investment atrophies."[4]

Solar cooking already has a significant presense in India, especially with large scale projects, but the potential remains for its use to still significantly replace the use of conventioal fuels. 

Cultural acceptance

In a report presented during the Asian Clean Energy Forum in June 2008, Soma Dutta, Asia Regional Network Coordinator for the Amsterdam-based ENERGIA International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, states that only 45% of India’s 70% rural population have access to electricity, and over 80 percent still rely on firewood as their primary cooking fuel, the gathering of which is a responsibility that almost always falls to the women and girls in a society. The long hours and significant effort spent simply gathering firewood leaves them little time for education or employment. [5]

Introductions of new technologies fail in villages for many reasons, but most commonly due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of local cultural customs. Solar cooking has often suffered this fate despite the purported cost savings because it is not introduced in a way that suited the lifestyles of the individuals using it.

A solar stove is most powerful at the times of the strongest sunlight, which is mid-day and early afternoon. As in many agricultural populations, village farmers in India consume their biggest meals by early to mid-morning and then again late at night, after the sun has set. In addition, certain solar stoves are not conducive to Indian-style cooking which is done mostly with oil (with the exception of rice) and requires frequent temperature manipulation as well as stirring and flipping which was is difficult with many solar cookers.[6]

While technical constraints limit the types of solar cookers likely to be widely adopted in India, there is historic precedent for solar cooking in Indian culture. A passage in ancient Vedic texts state, " Sun cooked food improves cellular health and longevity of life. It strengthens health and mind removes three major physical disorders to do with digestion, blood and respiratory system, balances inner body temperatures, life, glows aura and keeps various obstacles away. Sun cooked food has great medicinal value. It enhances intellect, genius." ' Rig Veda'. - Reference from the princeindia.org website. See: PRINCE

See also

Resources

Blogs

Possible funders of solar cooking projects in India

Photographs

Reports

Articles in the media

Audio and Video

  • February 2015:
12TH_FEB_DD_NEWS_METRO_SCAN_MUMBAI.

12TH FEB DD NEWS METRO SCAN MUMBAI.

News story four minutes into the video showing thousands of students solar cooking at the Maha Suryakumbha event in January 2015.

  • July 2014:
McGilligan_Empowering_young_Rural_and_Tribal_women_with_Solar_Cookers

McGilligan Empowering young Rural and Tribal women with Solar Cookers

  • January 2014:
Mumbai_solar_cooking_record_story

Mumbai solar cooking record story

  • December 2013:
Suryakumbha

Suryakumbha

On 19th January 2013, 2044 children from 107 schools participated in this historical event wherein trained by 206 trainers and 45 supervisors, they built their own solar ovens and cooked 400 kg of Sabudana Khichadi in it. This is the video summary of the same.

  • May 2013:
Square_Parabolic_Solar_Cooker

Square Parabolic Solar Cooker

Goldin Bennet of the Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering National Institute of Technology Tiruchirapalli, shows how they have fabricated a parabolic solar cooker using small square panels in 2013.

  • February 2010:
  • February 2010:
Solar_Cookers_in_India,_Global_Ideas

Solar Cookers in India, Global Ideas

Deepak Gadhia's efforts promoting various solar powered projects

  • September 2007:
The_Smokeless_Village

The Smokeless Village

News report showing the Smokeless Village where all inhabitants cook with solar cookers


External links

Indian solar cooking blogs

Contacts

The entities listed below are either based in India, or have established solar cooking projects there:

SCI Associates

NGOs

Manufacturers and vendors

Individuals

Government agencies

Educational institutions

See also

References

References