World’s Biggest Solar Kitchen?

This just blew me away. These solar reflectors “produce steam which is used to cook vegetables and rice for up to 18 000 people.” The steam can reach temperatures of 650 degrees C (1,202oF) at the focal point of the reflector, hot enough to cook food in massive industrial pots of 200 and 400 litres (53 and 106 Gal). This all happens at the Academy for a Better World on Mount Abu,1,300 metres above sea level, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. On days of peak solar radiation the system can apparently cope with 38,500 meals per day. And we just love this quietly spoken understatement of their treehuggery: “... the cooker is a fine example of the successful use of cost efficient solar thermal energy on a large scale while making use of relatively simple technology and low-maintenance equipment that is locally manufactured from local materials.” More pictures here. A combined project of the ::Brahma Kumaris India, and ::Solare-Bruecke, Germany (amongst others).