Solar panels, it turns out, contain a lot of valuable materials: Not only glass, aluminum, plastics, and silicon, but also recyclable amounts of silver, copper, and rare earth minerals. These materials aren’t cheap – and, like copper wire and catalytic converters, which contain platinum, they are now becoming targets for thieves.
A recent Bloomberg piece highlights just such a problem in Chile.
Just before midnight, two men in white coveralls and black gloves scale an electric fence at a solar farm in Chile’s Atacama Desert, then slip soundlessly into rows of sleek panels.”
Others use a poultry shear and electric angle grinder to breach the main gate. Three pickups without license plates pull in so the gang can load up their loot and race away. The thieves typically have less than an hour before police arrive to disable cameras, slice cables and extract dozens of panels before vanishing into the dunes. In this case, there was only one security guard, who was instructed to hide in case of an intrusion. They tied him up anyway.
This is a sophisticated, organized crime effort. They may be stealing these panels for resale, or for recycling of the valuable source materials. The why doesn’t really matter; it’s the what that’s important.
The theft of cables, panels or electronic equipment can temporarily shut down entire solar parks and cause significant economic losses,” said Erwin Plett, chief executive officer of renewable energy advisory Low Carbon Chile SpA, adding that it also drives up security and insurance costs. “Chile remains one of the most attractive renewable markets in the region, but maintaining that leadership requires ensuring the security of energy infrastructure.