Shirdi's Sun shrine

• The temple complex at Shirdi in Maharashtra's
Ahmednagar district, dedicated to the 19th century saint
Sai Baba, now has one of the world's largest solar cooking
systems

•The solar rays are used to heat water and generate steam
that is directed through pipes into steam cookers used for
cooking rice, dal (pulses) and vegetables

•The steam-cooked food, along with food cooked using
LPG, is enough to feed more than 50,000 persons a day

• 10,000 litres of water is drawn from the Kankure lake
every day and purified for cooking

• 243 kg cooking gas, worth Rs 10,594, is saved every day

• Solar cooking prevents 1,956 tonnes of CO2 from being
released every year

• The temple trust can earn Rs 19,04,987 a year through
carbon credits at the current rate of Rs 974 a tonne

• The system has a life of 25 years. It costs Rs 1.33 crore

• Gadhia Solar System Pvt Ltd installed the cooking system
and will maintain it the initial five years as a part of the