A Murder of Solar Crows (Part 1)

Four thieves break into three solar projects during long holiday
weekends, trying to steal the solar panels, copper wire, and
other equipment. But each time they try, a brown tabby cat stops
them with deadly consequences.

True Solar Takeaways


A line of crows on a tree limb or electrical wire is called
"A murder of crows."

Kelptovoltaics is the term for the act of stealing solar
equipment from a solar project.

Theft of solar modules, inverters, copper cabling, and other
valuable equipment from solar installations is a real phenomenon,
but there are no statistics about how common it is.

 Sinovoltaics, a global solar quality assurance company,
wrote an article about Kleptovoltaics in 2020, which discussed
security methods for preventing solar projects from theft. The
article cited several kleptovoltaic news reports from around the
world, so it's probably more common than what's reported in city
and national crime statistics.

Adding a 1 MW to 2 MW solar power project to land adjacent to
vineyards is common in California.

Local mammals, reptiles, and insects are always present at
solar projects. These include mice, rats, rabbits, squirrels,
coyotes, foxes, deer, snakes, wasps, and even stray cats. Birds
can also fly over projects and poop on the panels. 

Some solar project owners consider wild animals as pests, as
they can sometimes damage cables and modules. Other owners
welcome animals and create holes in project fences to allow
creatures to pass through to the surrounding habitat. 



-----


Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to
learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.

Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee
shirt!

Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar
Stories and tell their own creative stories.

Follow @SolarFred and/or @ProbTrueSolar on Twitter to discuss
episodes

Don't forget to:

Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast streaming
service

Rate

Review, and

Share!