Terra Foundation and Solar Cooking |
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Marta Pahissa |
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| The idea of being able to cook with the sun is difficult to believe unless you see it with your own eyes. Tasting a paella cooked with solar energy or proving how quickly you can fry an egg on a solar cooker are impressive experiences and ones which, with a jolt, dispel any possible doubts about the power of our reigning star's energy. | |
The Terra Foundation (Fundació Terra) is located in the heart of the Ciutat Vella in Barcelona. |
The Science and Technology Museum of Catalonia’s terrace is a wonderful space, combining the ideal conditions to enjoy a unique solar and culinary experience. Right next door to the museum restaurant the Terra Foundation (Fundació Terra) has set up an 8m2 Scheffler reflector with a reflective surface: a massive solar cooking device for community solar catering. It is the only Scheffler reflector of its size available to the public in Europe and can be used for solar cooking demonstrations for a large number of diners. Cooking with the sun for yourself or your family is simple and there are a wide range of solar devices available; however, when you want to cook large quantities of food, you need to use specific technology. This range of devices comes down to more or less one, single technology that has been extensively tested all over the world: Scheffler solar reflectors. In 1986, the Austrian physicist Wolfgang Scheffler built his first solar reflector in northern Kenya. Over more than 20 years of technological development, he managed to perfect an effective and practical device for harnessing solar energy for community kitchens, such as the canteens of schools, hospitals and other institutions. At present there are more than 800 Scheffler reflectors being used in more than twenty countries. The largest solar cooking facilities in the world are to be found in India: one, Abu Road in the state of Rajasthan, is capable of cooking for 18,000 diners using only solar energy captured by 84 Scheffler reflectors.
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