Last edited: 21 March 2024
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SuryaKumbh festival again sets record - Vivek Kabra reports: "On 11 Feb, 2017, approximately 7,500 school children created history by participating in the World's Largest Solar Cooking Festival. Trained by 400 trainers and guided by 150 supervisors, each one of them made their own solar cooker and cooked noodles in it. Having experienced the power of the sun first hand, each child took the SuryaKumbh solar cooker back home to share the magic of cooking without fuel." The event this year was organized by the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation and held in the Bhayandar-Thane area. Aerial view of the 7,438 school children learning the basics of solar cooking at SuryaKumbh 2017 - Photo credit: Vivek Kabra.More information...
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Events[]
Featured international events[]
- 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[]
- NEW: Thursday, 18 April 2024 (2:30pm-3:15pm EDT), (Washington, D.C., USA): ESMAP Spring Meetings Knowledge Café: Clean Cooking at the Heart of Energy Access - Join ESMAP for this exciting knowledge-sharing opportunity, which will showcase the role of clean cooking as a key part of energy access and energy transition. Presentations by René van Hell, Director of Inclusive Growth, Ministry of Foreign Affair, Netherlands, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella Chairman, Presidential Initiative on Climate, Renewable Energy and Food Security, Sierra Leone, and Chandrasekar Govindarajalu, Practice Manager, ESMAP, World Bank. In-person attendance at World Bank Atrium, MC Front Lobby is for Spring Meetings registrants only. However, you can watch the event online
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[]
- Rooftop solar installation feeds 50,000 people per day: Gadhia Solar Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. completed installation of a solar steam cooking system, capable of cooking 40,000-50,000 meals per day. It is located at Shirdi Sai Baba 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 Sai Baba temple solar steam cooking system.
- SuryaKumbh festival again sets record for largest solar cooking workshop - Vivek Kabra reports: "On 11 Feb, 2017, 7,500 school children created history by participating in the World's Largest Solar Cooking Festival. Trained by 400 trainers and guided by 150 supervisors, each one of them made their own solar cooker and cooked noodles in it. Having experienced the power of the sun first hand, each child took the SuryaKumbh solar cooker back home to share the magic of cooking without fuel." The event this year was organized by the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation and held in the Bhayandar - Thane area. More information...
- Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development and the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women - The long lasting partnership of Janak McGilligan and Jimmy McGilligan has provided a depth of solar cooking instruction for rural residents in India, beginning their work in 2008. Since that time, the two facilities, the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development and the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women, have trained over 150,000 youths in solar cooking, and over 6,000 rural and tribal women from over 1,000 villages to be community workers and trainers for solar cooking. They have shown communities that solar cookers can prepare their traditional and community foods with no problem, and have supervised the installation of many Scheffler Community Kitchens. Their projects have helped the self esteem of the local women, and created opportunities for them to use solar cooking to establish businesses that continue to provide community revenue. Jimmy passed away in 2011, but as of 2022, Janak continues to carry on their valuable work. Watch Janak McGilligan recall their work at CONSOLFOOD 2022
News[]
- NEW: March 2024: Men cooked and served a solar lunch for the women to celebrate International Women Day March 8, 2024 - Men organized and hosted a solar Lunch at Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development in the village Sanawadiya in India. They celebrated International Women's Day in a unique way. This year, many men specifically learned how to solar cooking, and cooked a solar lunch for the women. The event was attended by 30 participants, including Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan. Read more...
- December 2023: Mega solar cooker in the Himalayan Mountains - A presentation was made at COP28 by Sameer Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of Swaaha. He relates the story of how large Scheffler Community Kitchen solar cookers were installed high in the Himalayan Mountains, for the two-month festival Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2023. The new solar cookers, while used in conjunction with biomass and biogas sources, generated considerable interest by providing a sustainable way to prepare three daily meals for over 2,400 Hindi pilgrims. In all, over 500,000 people, who visit the high-altitude holy site during the one month festival, viewed the solar cooker and received information on how they could have this technology at their own home locations. His presentation begins at 21:00 of the accompanying video, which begins with a worldwide solar cooking overview provided by Solar Cookers International personnel.
- November 2023: The Solar Energy Conference 2023, organized by Germany-based International Solar Energy Society (ISES), was held in New Delhi, India. Janak McGilligan was invited as a speaker at the “Solar Thermal Cooking” session. ISES has included Janak among the 200 Renewable Energy Pioneers of India in its commemorative booklet ‘Century of Solar Stories and Renewable Energy Vision’. Read more...
- October 2023: Suryakumbh 2 2023 (Bhubaneswar, Odisha): - A second Suryakumbh workshop was held this year to commemorate the observation of World Students’ Day on 15th October. The Design Innovation Centre (Sponsored by Ministry of Education, Govt. of India), IIT Bhubaneswar, in association with the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) and Entrepreneurship Cell of the Institute organized the workshop. 400 government school students from the five adopted villages and the migrant workers’ settlement of the Institute participated in this workshop. During the workshop, they received training on building and utilizing solar cookers for cooking, and baked cakes with their new solar cookers. Read more...
- October 2023: Patent approval - Ajay Chandak has received Patent #458401 from the government of India for Composite Structure for Heat Storage. This innovation will be used for heat storage in solar cookers, enabling indoor cooking in the comfort of kitchen and allowing cooking even after sunset.
- October 2023: Computer science students learn sustainable living from Janak Balta McGilligan - A group of students from Soft Vision College Indore came to Sinawadiya in Madhya Pradesh, India, to conduct academic studies at the Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development. The students were amazed at the simplicity of using a solar cooker to harness the sun’s energy for cooking. Janak McGilligan maintains a zero-waste and zero-electricity lifestyle at her home and training center, and is an example of sustainability for us all to emulate. Read more...
- January 2023: Celebrating the joy of solar cooking with 1000 children - Vivek Kabra provided an update for this year's SuryaKumbh. Children assembled their own solar cookers and cooked their own meals using the same for the very first time. The CSR wing of NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd) provided the reflective solar panel cooker kits for the children attending from the Boisar metro area in India.
- January 2023: Padma Shri Recipient Runs Zero-Waste Household - Janak McGilligan, Baha'i pioneer who established and developed the Barli Development Institute for Rural Women with her late husband Jimmy McGilligan , was interviewed by the better india to describe how she manages her zero-waste and zero-electricity lifestyle. Read more...
- December 2022: Bappu Deshmukh, designer and maker of the Sun Venture Smart Cooker, held a solar cooker construction workshop for a group of young students, in Roing northeast India. The group collectively made four box cookers and six Copenhagen Lotus Cookers. They left with a usable solar appliances to take home.
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- See the solar cookers created at Bappu Deshmukh's student workshop
- November 2022: During the three-day event between 20-21 November, Dr. Manoj Kumar Soni, an Associate Professor at BITS Pilani, and his team prepared a range of food items, including cakes, pizzas, and even sabudana khichadi to show the possibilities of cooking with solar thermal energy. Over the years, Prof. Soni and his team have trained hundreds of women from neighboring villages in the use of these solar cookers. Read more...
- November 2022: Student training in alternative energy - Students assemble and install appliances at an ICDS center in Howrah’s Domjur. The group were trained under a pilot project of the Pratichi Trust to assemble everyday appliances. This included assembling and using a Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light solar panel cooker. Read more...
- October 2022: The Goa Energy Development Agency to install solar cooking system for the Central Reserve Police Force in Latur, Maharashtra. It will be used to cook food for about 1,000 people. The installation, which will cost around Rs 1.5 crore, will lead to saving of 171 kg of LPG per day. The system boasts a lifespan of twenty years and a payback period of 2.5 years. Read more...
- September 2022: New solar cooking business in Pune - Orjabox was launched in 2018 by Vishakha Chandhere from her city of Pune, in Maharashtra. An engineer by education, she has worked in the environment and clean energy sector, and began experimenting with clean cooking to find sustainable alternatives to expensive LPG cylinders. Orjabox regularly hosts workshop demonstrations at the Rupa Rahul Bajaj Center for Environment and Arts in Pune, as well as online awareness sessions. They are able to tailor the right sustainable cooking equipment program for individuals and for commercial facilities as well.
- July 2022: Suryakumbh 2022 - Over 300 school students cooked together with 300 portable solar cookers in a first-of-its-kind event at a school in Karnataka. Prajna, a Class 7 student, who participated in the event called Suryakumbh, says, “We got to know more about solar cookers and how we can harness freely available solar energy with such simple technology. The food took 60 minutes to cook well as there was enough sunlight. Vivek Kabra, the founder of the solar company that organized this event, says, “We started this initiative called ‘Suryakumbh’ in 2012 to promote the idea of solar energy amongst school children between Classes four and 10. Cooking is the ideal way to connect children with solar energy because it gives them immediate feedback and there is a joy in it.” Read more...
- July 2022: Solar power and zero-waste for Amarnath - Volunteers with DayStar Solar Cooking Solutions have completed a sizable mission to install six parabolic solar cookers along the route to several high altitude temples in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, as well as removing 1,500 metric tons of waste from the surrounding hillsides. Two of the largest solar cookers are Scheffler Community Kitchens located at Amarnath, along with four Prince-15s, two along the Baltal route and two along the Pahalgam route. This is to spread awareness against waste left behind and generated by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visiting the revered cave shrine annually. Sunil Chouhan, the Director and Founder of Daystar, states the aim of this project is to make Amarnath Yatra, the benchmark of cleanliness and sustainability.” Read more
- April 2022: Pali village to go solar - Pali village located in the Samba District was visited by PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate a 500 kW solar plant. Sarpanch Randhir Sharma said, “Every house has been given solar cooker. Some families use wood as kitchen fuel. We are trying to provide them solar stoves.” Read more...
- November 2021: Building back Suryakumbh - Vivek Kabra, with assistance from Project Chirag, was able to organize and create the first Surkakumbh since 2019. He reported that sixty children from the tribal belt of Mokhada experienced the magic of solar cooking by cooking sumptuous poha without fuel, fire, or electrical heating.
- November 2021: Reducing the family's LPG consumption - Pallavi Patil of Pune, has found many techniques for living more simply, and also resulting in lowering her familie's LPG consumption. She grows much of her own food, and realized they could live without air conditioning or a refrigerator. uses a solar box cooker, comprised of an insulated square box, a glass lid on the cooking tray and a mirror on its underside. The food placed in metal pots is cooked by the heat absorbed by a blackened surface. “Our gas cylinder used to last us for two months, but using a solar cooker helps me save 15 days’ worth of gas and half the labour. The food is cooked at stable temperatures and doesn’t require dedicated stirring." Read more...
- November 2021: Mobile bicycle tea service - A young entrepreneur from Indore MP, Suneel Chauhan, has begun testing a prototype system he calls the Solar Tea Stall on Cycle. A trough style solar cooker is mounted to the rear of a three wheel tricycle. When stopped it can quickly provide hot water for tea, and when traveling the trough reflector can be flipped forward to provide sun shading or rain protection for the rider. He hope is that this model will provide more employment opportunities for villagers. As well as tea, business owners can serve eggs, bread, paratha, and dal rice. Suneel is currently seeking mass production assistance, and can be reached at +91 6260 036385.
- September 2021: Cooking gas getting costlier every fortnight, worth the damage? The CSR Journal explores the situation occurring in India, where the cost of LPG gas is rising quickly. They consider the alternatives, and give credit to Bancha in Betul district, as the first village in India to have zero wooden stoves and almost no use for LPG cylinders, as the entire village has converted to using solar cooking appliances. Read more...
- February 2021: New reflectors at Vankuva School - Deepak Gadhia reports that the large Scheffler reflectors on-site are in the process of being replaced at the Green Campus at Vankuva School] in Gujarat, India. The original reflectors each measured 10m2, and the new ones measure 16m2. The new reflectors will be first used to test existing thermic fluid, and then converted and tested with the pressurized hot water system solar thermal system.
- September 2020: Prime Minister Modi calls for low-cost indoor solar cooking solutions - "In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to action for developing low-cost indoor solar cooking solutions, IOCL has tied up with Sun Bucket System, a US-based start-up working in the niche area of solar energy-based products. We are encouraging Indian oil and gas companies to develop such innovative and scalable tie-ups in solar sector, which have the potential to make nationwide impact.” More information...
- September 2020: Meet These 'Solar Mamas' of Rajasthan - The community-based Barefoot College, located in Tilonia, encourages a hands-on-training process of gaining practical knowledge. Since 2004, Barefoot college has been teaching solar engineering skills to illiterate older women from rural communities. Women are indeed agents of change, which is why they are being trained to use solar cookers, desalination plants, and water heaters. They then return to their villages to establish projects and train others. Read more...
- September 2020: UN Secretary-General Calls on India to Take Lead in Global Transformation to Renewables - Mercom India
- December 2019: TinyTech Plants, founded by Veljibhai Desai, has announced it will be selling its current stock of solar cookers. Veljibhai will be retiring soon, and no longer wishes to maintain a marketing effort. The inventory includes the list below. If interested, contact TinyTech Plants:
- November 2019: The PRINCE-40 wins award - The PRINCE-40 parabolic solar cooker, designed to serve a community, has won a National Grand Challenge for designing a robust, efficient, and compact community solar cooker. The challenge was from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The award focussed on community solar cooker designs.
- November 2019: Electric cooking starts to simmer in rural India - Following the success of the Saubhagya initiative and its announcement of 100 per cent rural household electrification, efficiency gains and cost reductions in solar panels and batteries are opening up a new market that has the potential to avoid using any solid or fossil fuel, with solar-powered electric cooking or e-cooking using pressure and rice cookers and induction stoves gaining traction. The winner of the 2017 challenge, IIT Bombay, has since conducted a project to convert the entire village of Bancha in Madhya Pradesh to solar panels and induction cookstoves instead of wood-burning or LPG stoves. With Rs 8.5 million provided by ONGC, all the 75 houses in Bancha now rely on solar-powered electric stoves to meet their cooking needs. Besides reducing air pollution, villagers no longer have to collect firewood from nearby forests, saving time and effort. More information...
- October 2019: Modi govt to offer Ayushman, Ujjwala benefits for PMAY users in three month trial program - The government will not just cover these beneficiaries under schemes like Ujjawala and Ayushman Bharat, but will also offer them solar energy run devices like solar cookers, etc as part of its efforts to develop a holistic self-sufficient and sustainable urban cluster. Under PMAY (Urban), the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has sanctioned around 90 lakh houses so far, of which 53.40 lakh have been grounded (work started) and more than 27.17 lakh have been completed with an investment of around Rs 5.54 lakh crore. Around 24.75 lakh houses have been occupied. It was officially rolled out in all cities under PMAY (Urban) on October 2 and will conclude on December 10. The campaign is to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. More information...
- September 2019: Oil company supports indoor solar cooking: - IndianOil has formed a partnership with the start-up company, Sun Buckets, to sponsor a test pilot program of their indoor solar cooking system in Leh, Ladakh. The Sun Bucket can be ‘charged’ using parabolic solar concentrators kept outdoors. Once charged, the system is capable of storing and discharging the thermal energy on demand for indoor cooking — for boiling, steaming, frying and to make roti. It has enough heat storage capacity to cater to cooking demands during the day as well as at night. More information...
- September 2019: Gujarat Man Teaches Tribal Women to Make Solar Cookers That Cost Just Rs 100! - The Better India (“We have organised the Solar Cooker Workshop in more than 100 villages till date. In the last two years, our initiative has reached many parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka as well. While on the one hand, many rural families have already begun using solar cookers successfully, on the other, we are working on setting up a solar cooker laboratory in the tribal village of Casa located in Palghar district of Maharashtra,” said Alzubair Saiyed.)
- July 2019: In the second week of July, Dr. Ajay Chandak will lead an environmental expedition to Ladakh to demonstrate the ability of solar thermal parabolic cookers to cook food and boil tea with the power of the sun even when snow is on the ground and temperatures are below freezing. Ladakh, a high-altitude desert with more than 325 clear sunny days and no locally available cooking fuel is an ideal region for cooking with solar thermal devices. Using solar cookers whenever the sun is shining can significantly reduce the amount of subsidized LPG fuel that residents of this region must currently purchase and import every year. Ajay and his team will demonstrate low cost, easy to use PRINCE solar cookers at schools and rural child care centers (Aanganwadis). They will carry out a solar cooking expedition to Khardungla Pass, at an elevation of 5360 mt (17585.2 ft) on the 10th of July. Ajay also plans to donate a PRINCE-40 solar community cooker to Indian Army personnel for pilot testing so that it can be used in remote outposts in this region where all cooking fuel must be imported at tremendous expense. Ajay has been instrumental in training and mentoring entrepreneurs from Ladakh since 2010. These entrepreneurs have manufactured and installed almost 1000 domestic solar cookers in the reg
- March 2019: Smart Solar Cooking Solutions Design National Challenge 2019 - The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India is providing young Indian innovators with a chance to submit their designs of efficient and user-friendly solar cooking solutions and win financial grants. Indian citizens affiliated to any academic institution, R&D organization and/or an Indian company/Industry recognized under the Company’s Act/DSIR may apply for this scholarship with their design ideas. The last date to apply for the challenge was 31 March 2019. [http://www.dst.gov.in/callforproposals/national-grand-challenge-awards-designing-user-friendly-smart-solar-cooking More information...
Articles in the media[]
- NEW: March 2024: From sun to plate: India yet to embrace solar cooking benefits - Mongabay
- NEW: March 2024: Over 70% of rural households use firewood for cooking in Nagaland - The Morung Express
- October 2023: IIT Bhubaneswar organizes ‘Suryakumbh’ Workshop to educate children on Solar Energy and Sustainability
- October 2023: Computer science students learn sustainable living from Janak Balta McGilligan, GeoTV
- May 2023: Not LPG, through solar-powered cooking, India can achieve net zero! - Ground Report
- January 2023: Sonam Wangchuk - An environmentalist who leads by example, Sonam promotes carbon-neutral approaches for the Ladakh region, which includes solar cooking applications. He will conduct a high altitude five day fast to raise awareness - Cross Barriers
- December 2022: Abhi and Niyu represented India at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt. They promoted sustainable climate solutions, which included solar cooking - The Hindu
- November 2022: Sun-Cooked Cakes And Pizzas? These Solar Cookers Can Get It Done Without Causing Any Pollution - India Times
- November 2022: Students assemble and install appliances at an ICDS center in Howrah’s Domjur - The Telegraph Online
- June 2022: World Environment Day was celebrated with the minister for water resources, Tulsi Silawat, and SCI Associate, Janak McGilligan - Free Press Journal
- April 2022: Samba: Palli village to be carbon-neutral in 18 months: Sarpanch - The Tribune
- March 2022: Solar-Cooked Lessons and Chicken Curry - titli trail
- December 2021: Couple Cooks Homegrown Veggies in Solar Cooker; Cuts Costs by Rs 20,000/Year - The Better India
- November 2021: Indore: Students marvel at varied uses of solar power at Janak McGilligan's centre - The Free Press Journal
- September 2021: CSIR-CMERI’s Solar DC Cooking System, a step towards green & pollution free India - NewsOnAir
- July 2021: Maharashtra: Jalna-based dentist makes sugar-free cookies using solar energy - mid-day
- June 2021: Electrification of 19 Siachen villages to help Ladakh achieve carbon-neutrality target - The Hindu
- May 2021: How Devang Joshi is helping farmers in becoming Atmanirbhar using the income generation model through Solar Dryers - Startup Times
- April 2021: Indore: People share their journey of solar cooking as an environment-friendly option, Jimmy McGilligan Memorial Week - The Free Press Journal
- March 2021: AIADMK seeks to outsmart DMK, unveils super populist manifesto for Assembly polls - The Tribune
- March 2021: Maharashtra aims to achieve 40 per cent electricity generation through renewable sources by 2030 - Frontline
- January 2021: Solar Cookers International: Clean Cooking Solutions - Indiaspora
- January 2021: Madhya Pradesh: Indore’s Janak Palta McGilligan gets international recognition for pioneering solar cooking - The Free Press Journal
- December 2020: Mahindra University's third annual R&D showcase, which includes a student solar cooker presentation winner - India EducationDiary.com
- December 2020: Use of solar cookers saved women from rape, exploitation, abuse and violence - Janak McGilligan, The Free Press Journal
- November 2020: Children’s Day 2020: Tribal kids conduct experiments away from artificial labs in Bhopal - The Free Press
- September 2020: Prime Minister Modi calls for low-cost indoor solar cooking solutions - domain-b.com
- September 2020: CSIR-CMERI and NISE to bolster the Solar Energy Sector - DD News
- August 2020: UN Chief Urges India To Kill Fossil Fuel Subsidies, End Coal Pledges After 2020 - Science the Wire
- June 2020: Unique ‘Solar Bowl’ Keeps Kitchen Cool Despite Using Steam to Cook 1,000 Meals a Day! - The Better India
- April 2020: Weeklong online lectures from 15 April in memory of great solar techie James McGilligan
- March 2020: Renewable Energy: How a shift towards energy access is transforming rural India - The Economic Times
- March 2020: Igniting a Solar Revolution - milleniumpost
- February 2020: Solar energy the future of city: Experts
- December 2019: Learn to Build Solar Cookers from IITian Who Quit His Job to Teach 1.2 Lakh Kids - The Better India
- October 2019: Here comes the sun - Pune Mirror
- October 2019: SECI tenders 500 quantities of solar cooking systems - PV Magazine India
- October 2019: Keeping the Mahatma’s light shining - Mongabay
- September 2019: Gujarat Man Helps Tribal Women Make Solar Cookers That Cost Just Rs 100! - The Better India
- September 2019: IOCL flags off pilot study of solar indoor cooking in Leh - Daily Excelsior
- September 2019: Indian Oil launches pilot study of indoor solar cooking at Leh - The State Times
- Gujarat Man Teaches Tribal Women to Make Solar Cookers That Cost Just Rs 100! - The Better India
- September 2019: #KindnessMatters: Engineer invents Rs 60 solar cooker to help rural women - CNBC TV18
- July 2019: IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi and ARES (FBK) jointly execute ITPAR Project Titled "STAR" - webindia123
- July 2019: Union Budget 2019: A Mixed Bag for the Solar Industry - Saur Energy International
- June 2019: RK Singh reviews the issues pertaining to Renewable Energy sector, calls upon the lenders - Dariya News
- June 2019: Increasing the share of cleaner cooking among rural households of India - Observer Research Foundation
- June 2019: MP village goes completely solar for cooking needs - Times of India
- May 2019: Time To Replace LPG? This Gujarat Man’s Solar Stove Lowers Cooking Costs by 80% - The Better India
- May 2019: Increasing the share of cleaner cooking among rural households of India - Observer Research Foundation
- April 2019: On Mission to Save Environment, Gujarat Engineer Designs Solar Cooker That Costs Just Rs 100 - NEWS 18
- February 2019: Vocational Training On Preservation Of Fruits And Vegetables Concludes At Krishi Vigyan Kendra Fatehgarh Sahib - 5 Dariya News
- February 2019: StartupBharat: From solar stoves to 3D printing, four stories of innovation from Gujarat - YourStory
Audio and video[]
- July 2023: Solar Steam Cooking System (CST) at the Shirdi temple in India
- July 2023:
- November 2022:
- March 2022:
- February 2022: Challenges in Promoting Solar Dryers in India. Presented at CONSOLFOOD 2022. Watch on YouTube.
- February 2022: The Scheffler kitchen used at Vatsalya has cooked over 150,000Kg of food, and paid for itself in four years. Presented at CONSOLFOOD 2022. Watch on YouTube.
- September 2020: - OrjaBox presents: Fuels used in Indian kitchens
- February 2017:
- June 2016: Deepak Gadhia tells the story his solar cooking research and promotion (Starts in German, but after one minute switches to English)
- May 2016:
- January 2016:
- June 2015:
- February 2015:
- July 2014:
- May 2013:
- February 2010:
- February 2010:
- September 2007:
History[]
- Main article: History of solar cooking in India
India, Asia's second largest country next to China, is second to China in the number of solar cookers in use. The situation in India has been more complex than that of China., and more is known about Indian programs. The Third World Conference on Solar Cooking was held in India, which permitted the history and progress of solar technology's uses to be better known around the world.
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 extended well beyond solar cooking, including fuel efficient wood and charcoal stoves, power from other renewable sources, energy from industrial wastes, and 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 solar box cooker.
The population of India is roughly 70% rural. MNES states, "cooking accounts for a major share of the total energy consumption in rural homes (Singhal, correspondence, 2003, p. 1). Sources of that energy use have been largely fuelwood, animal dung, or crop residues. All emit smoke, pollute the atmosphere, and are deterimental to health and safety of family members, particularly women. Fuelwood has become more scarce each coming year. FAO data show that 21.6% of the Indian land mass is forested, and conservation efforts have been in place to reverse previous loss. The effort has been 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 supported by government efforts.
- Main article: Institutional solar cooker designs
The Press Bureau of the Government of India reported in 2007 that there were 525,000 solar cookers installed in India. 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."
External links[]
- April 2023: The poor woman’s energy: Low-modernist solar technologies and international development in India and Mexico, 1878–1966 - Cambridge University Press
- Main article: History of solar cooking
Archived articles
- Aga Khan Foundation
- Applied Science and Engineering
- C.K. Rohatgi
- C. Palaniappan
- Clique Solar
- Dinkar Verma
- EduCARE India
- Gadhia Solar Energy Systems
- Girja Sharan
- Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency
- Jalpaiguri Akshay Rural Technology and Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Development Centre
- Jimmy McGilligan
- Mathew SJ Muthuplackal
- Navratna Nahar
- Rohitas Electronics
- Sankha Subhra Datta
- Sathyavathi Muthu
- Shirin Gadhia
- Sol-Café
- Solar Health and Education Project
- Sun BD Corporation
- Sunil K. Somani
- Veerabhadran Ramanathan
- Veljibhai Desai
Climate and culture[]
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."
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%)
- 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 presence in India, especially with large-scale projects, but the potential largely remains untapped for its use to significantly replace the use of conventional 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[]
- The climate of India - Wikipedia
- India Energy Situation - Energypedia
- Enhancing the acceptance of solar cooking in India - Lt Col Dinkar Verma (Retd)
- June 2015: Women Spend 374 Hours Each Year Collecting Firewood in India, Study Finds - Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
- March 2015: Will mini-micro solar remain a toy for the middle-class and rich in India? - Moneylife
- November 2012: Explaining the Unexpectedly Low Use of Solar Cookers in Gujarat, India - Girja Sharan and Raju Pandya
- July 2006: Integrated Approach for Promoting Solar Cookers in Rural Areas of Tamil Nadu - Dr. Sathyavathi Muthu and Ms. G. Anuradha
- July 2006: Dissemination of Solar Cooker Information - Mamata Dutta
- July 2006: Sustainable Energy Policies for Promotion of Solar Cookers in India - Sudha Mahalingam
- An Analysis of Solar Cooker Usage - Bashir Ahmad
- Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables
Resources[]
Possible funding[]
Facebook groups[]
- Solar Cooker India
- Solar Cooking Campaign for Grassroots
- Solar Cookers - DayStar Solar Solutions @DayStarSolarCo
Blogs and newsletters[]
Project evaluations[]
- April 2014: A (new) cultural turn toward solar cooking—Evidence from six case studies across India and Burkina Faso
- January 2013: Performance Evaluation of Parabolic Solar Disc for Indoor Cooking - Yogesh Suple & S.B. Thomre
- Main article: Project evaluations
Photographs[]
Documents[]
- May 2019: Experimental investigation of 16 square meter Scheffler concentrator system and its performance assessments for various regions of India - S. Kumar, V. Yadav, U. Sahoo, and S.K. Singh
- January 2018: Introduction of Solar Drying by NGO Narmada in Nimar Region of Madhya Pradesh State of India Under the Guidance of Barc, Goi - Raghav Deosthale, et al
- January 2018: Solar Concentrator Evoluation in India and Way Ahead (Slides, Abstract) - Deepak Gadhia
- April 2017: Solar Cooking Journey - Alzubair Saiyed
- Challenges in Promoting Solar Cookers in India (Slides, Abstract) - Neha Mehta, et al
- June 2016: Health and Climate-Relevant Pollutant Concentrations from a Carbon-Finance Approved Cookstove Intervention in Rural India - Ther W. Aung, et al
- July 2015: Gujarat Solar Power Policy-2015 - Government of Gujarat
- June 2015: Women Spend 374 Hours Each Year Collecting Firewood in India, Study Finds - Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
- August 2014: ARUN®100 Installation at Akshardham Temple, New Delhi - Ajay Chandak
- August 2014: ARUN®100 with Thermal Storage at Ramkrishna Mission, Chennai - Ajay Chandak
- June 2014: A (new) cultural turn toward solar cooking—Evidence from six case studies across India and Burkina Faso - Pia Otte
- May 2013: Manufacturers of Box Type & Dish Type Solar Cooker - Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
- November 2012: Explaining the Unexpectedly Low Use of Solar Cookers in Gujarat, India - Girja Sharan and Raju Pandya
- November 2012: Bashir Ahmad, a Research Fellow at the Technical University of Denmark, provides an analysis of solar cooker usage compared to conventional cooking methods. Data was collected for the study in India and Burkina Faso in the 80's and 90's. An Analysis of Solar Cooker Usage - Bashir Ahmad
- February 2012: Patricia McArdle attended a workshop dealing with the construction and proper alignment techniques for Scheffler Community Kitchens in Dhule, India: Read her report.
- Spring 2009: Solar Box Cooker for Gujarat, India - Ashok Gadgil
- January 2009: Watermelon Processing in Integrated Solar Heater, Cooker, and Dryer - P.C. Pande
- January 2009: Thematic Studies for Processing and Preservation of Foods with Solar Energy - Ranjita Bezbaruah Sharma
- January 2009: Fortification of Solar Dried Fruit Bars -G. Sarojini, V. Veena, M. Ramakrishna Rao
- January 2009: Perspectives of Solar Food Processing in India - C. Palaniappan
- January 2009: Micro-Enterprises in Solar Food Processing - M. Ramakrishna Rao, D.J. Rao, S.L. Kumar
- January 2009: Food Processing Through Solar Energy - Ghanshyam Lukhi
- January 2009: Promotion of SK14 Solar Cookers through an Eco Center- Case Study of a Unique North-South Co-operation - Dr. Shirin Gadhia
- January 2009: Promotion of Smoke Free Villages in Chittoor District & Employment Generation to Rural Youth - Jagadeeswara Reddy
- January 2009: Advancing towards achievement of Millennium Development Goals by training Rural and Tribal women in Solar Food Processing - A Hands-on Experience at Barli Development Institute for Rural Women in Central India - Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan
- August 2008: A Solar Cooking Day
- July 2006: Disseminsation of Solar Cooker Information - Mamata Dutta
- July 2006: Sustainable Energy Policies for Promotion of Solar Cookers in India - Sudha Mahalingam
- March 2003: India's solar cooker program - Solar Cooker Review
- June 2001 S. Narayanaswamy Sheds Light on Solar Cooking - India Together
- May 1999: Solar Cooking Technology - How Far are Technology Promoters and Users From Each Other?
Contacts[]
The entities listed below are either based in India, or have established solar cooking projects there:
SCI Associates[]
- Ajay Chandak
- Alzubair Saiyed
- Deepak Gadhia
- Foundation for Sustainable Technologies
- International Center for Networking, Ecology, Education and Re-Integration
- Janak McGilligan
- Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development
- Kinarkumar Patel
- Orjabox
- Promoters, Researchers and Innovators in New and Clean Energy
- Solar Cookers India
- Sun BD Corporation
- TinyTech Plants
- Main article: Solar Cookers International Association
NGOs[]
- 100 Suns
- Aga Khan Foundation
- Auroville Solar Kitchen
- Barli Development Institute for Rural Women
- Brahma Kumaris
- Climate Healers
- Foundation for Sustainable Technologies
- Friendly Appropriate Solar Technologies
- International Center for Networking, Ecology, Education and Re-Integration
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
- Jimmy McGilligan Centre for Sustainable Development
- Keshav Srushti
- Lady Fatemah Trust
- Malaviya Solar Energy Consultancy
- Naandi Foundation
- Promoters, Researchers and Innovators in New and Clean Energy
- SELCO Foundation
- Simplified Technologies for Life
- Solar Alternatives and Associated Programmes
- Solar Cookers India
- Solar Cooking Campaign for Grassroots
- Solare Brücke
- Solare Zukunft
- The Energy and Resources Institute
- Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam
- Uttarakhand Renewable Development Agency
- WISIONS of Sustainability
- Women Barefoot Solar Cooker Engineers Society
Manufacturers and vendors[]
- DayStar Solar Cooking Solutions
- Ecoo
- EnKing International
- FUTEK
- Fair Fabricators
- Foundation for Sustainable Technologies
- Indiamart
- Kivu
- Malaviya Solar Energy Consultancy
- Manik Solar Innovation
- Orjabox
- Promoters, Researchers and Innovators in New and Clean Energy
- Radha Energy Cell
- Ravindra Pardeshi
- Redsun Solar Industries
- Rudra Solar Energy
- SOLA Solar Cooker 1
- Simply Solar
- Solar India
- Su Solartech Systems
- SunVenture
- Sun Oven India
- Sundish
- Sunrise CSP
- Tapi Food Products
- TinyTech Plants
- UNesar Private Limited
Individuals[]
Government agencies[]
Educational institutions[]
See also[]
- 6th SCI World Conference 2017
- ARUN 100
- Category:Andhra Pradesh
- Category:Arunachal Pradesh
- Category:Assam
- Balcony Solar Cooker
- Bamboo Solar Cooker
- Category:Bihar
- Category:Chhattisgarh
- Community Solar Cooker 10 SQ MT
- Category:Delhi
- Domestic Parabolic Solar Cooker
- Category:Goa
- Category:Guirat
- Category:Gujarat
- Category:Haryana
- Category:Himachal Pradesh
- History of solar cooking in India
- India news archive
- International Solar Food Processing Conference 2009
- Category:Jammu and Kashmir
- Category:Jharkhand
- Category:Karnataka
- Category:Kerala
- Low-cost Tile Box Cooker
- Low-cost Wooden Solar Box Cooker
- Category:Madhya Pradesh
- Category:Maharashtra
- Making the Most of Sunshine
- Manik Parabolic Cooker
- Manik Trough Cooker
- Category:Manipur
- Category:Meghalaya
- Category:Mizoram
- Category:Nagaland
- Category:National Capital Territory of Delhi
- Category:Odisha
- Category:Orissa
- PRINCE-40
- Parabolic solar concentrator for industrial heating
- Category:Punjab
- Category:Rajasthan
- Saracon
- Category:Sikkim
- Smoke-Free Village
- SolaCooka
- Solar-roasted peanut butter plant
- States of India
- Category:Tamil Nadu
- Category:Telangana
- Category:Tripura
- Universal Engineers Enterprise
- Category:Uttar Pradesh
- Category:Uttarakhand
- Category:West Bengal
References[]
- ↑ http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090624234723/solarcooking/images/8/8f/Performance_analysis_Solar_Parabolic_concentrator_for_cooking_applications_P._Rajamohan%2C_S._Shanmugan%2C_K._Ramanathan%2C_D._Mutharasu_%28January_2009%29.pdf
- ↑ 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
- ↑ http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Debate/How_to_deal_with_ever-rising_crude_prices/articleshow/3094985.cms
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/currency/10277392/India-pushes-shock-and-awe-currency-plan-to-save-BRICS.html
- ↑ http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42725
- ↑ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Andhra-Pradesh/Hyderabad/blog-449965.html4