Solar Panel Thefts on the Rise
Posted by Amy Wall on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 @ 05:42 PM
One of the latest and fastest growing trends among criminals is to target solar panel installations at government and commercial sites.
Known as "photovoltaic theft," thieves are literally ripping off 20-50 solar panels at a time from atop schools, commercial buildings and wineries all over the world. The panels each cost about $1,000 and fetch a few hundred dollars a piece on the black market.
According to this recent article in the WSJ.com, "Stop That (Solar) Thief!," many places in Northern California have been hit especially hard for solar panel thefts, including dozens of wineries in the Napa Valley region and the Pleasanton school district.
As more solar panels are stolen and the problem continues to grow, businesses and government agencies being targeted for the thefts are searching for security solutions specifically designed to help protect their solar panels from thieves. Because photovoltaic theft is a very new and unique type of crime, there are not a wide number of security solutions that exist and currently available on the market today.
However, CSC's Snitch Security System is one of the few answers that exist today for stopping solar panel theft. Uniquely designed to protect anything, anywhere, anytime, The Snitch is a burglar alarm system that's fully capable of stopping solar panel thefts and providing 100% protection.
Originally designed to protect commercial buildings and construction sites from theft and vandalism, the Snitch has been adapted to fit the unique needs of businesses and government agencies desperately needing to protect their solar panel installations. The Snitch can also be configured to run off solar energy, making the solar panel installation and the security system designed to protect it completely energy and cost efficient.
For those companies and government agencies who've made the investment in solar panel installations, practicing risk management and implementing a security solution to protect that investment from photovoltaic theft is probably a good idea. The team at CSC is here to help should you have any questions about taking the necessary steps to protect you from solar panel theft.