Thieves Take Solar Panels from Wineries
An article got my attention today, from Napa Valley Register. According to this article, many Napa Valley wineries have been the victims of thieves that stole many of their solar panels. One panel costs almost $1,000 and can measure about two feet, weighting close to 35 pounds. From June 2008 to September 2009, in the Napa County there have been 14 solar panel thefts and two attempts were registered.
In that period of time, 400 panels, worth around $400,000, were stolen. One winery that was a victim of the solar panel thieves is ZD Wines on the Silverado Trail. “This won’t happen again,” said Brett de Leuze, president of ZD Wines. This winery has been on the leading edge of using solar panels. They have replaced them after they were stolen two times. After the second thefts the winery representatives have used enhanced methods of security.
“There are lot of panels out there. We never expected this. We were stunned. It was not in our consciousness to think people would steal them,” added Brett de Leuze.
Honig Vineyard and Winery is another winery that was targeted by thieves. On the thieves last attempt 3 of them have been caught in the act by Napa County Sheriff’s deputies. Now many more wineries are trying to protect their investments.
Mike Thompson is trying to create a registry so that if a panel is found in Oklahoma, someone can tell that is was stolen in Napa Valley. “What Mike (Thompson) is trying to do is proactive. His initiative is trying to get in front of the problem,” Honig adds. “It is frustrating. We are doing something good to benefit society in the long run. I never thought people would come onto the property and steal solar panels.” Even if many solar panels in the wineries were insured, it was difficult to replace what was stolen.
In the future solar panels will come with an alarm connected to a video camera. The camera will be then connected to the home security system. This way the owner will be able to catch the thieves in the act.
