Securing solar panels against theft

As more solar panels are installed in remote locations, how can they be secured against theft?

New Hampshire's Swift River, along the Kancamagus Highway.

Between new, more efficient technologies and government incentive programs, people are installing solar photovoltaic panels at a much faster rate than in the past.  While most solar PV projects are being developed on industrial or commercial buildings or homes, remote or off-the-grid solar projects form a growing sector of the market.  This can be particularly cost-effective where traditional grid-based electricity would be cost-prohibitive to install.  For example, the National Park Service is using solar panels to power campground facilities in remote locations, as are state park units and other public land management agencies like the U.S. Forest Service.

Theft of these solar panels and related electric equipment may be a growing problem in some locations.  For example, the Manchester Union Leader reports that thieves stole a variety of equipment including solar panels, electrical panels, charge controllers, inverters and deep cycle batteries from Forest Service facilities along New Hampshire's Kancamagus Highway this past winter.  Along with associated vandalism, the damage and losses to the campground and visitor facilities in the White Mountain National Forest are reported to exceed $10,000.

For some years, electric utilities have faced similar challenges in the form of copper theft, where thieves steal wires and other electric equipment for its value as scrap metal.  As people, businesses and agencies other than utilities become distributed producers of electric energy, they are being exposed to the parallel risk of solar panel theft.  Securing solar energy equipment could take a variety of forms, from physical security (e.g. bolting the equipment down more securely) to monitoring, patrols, or electronic surveillance.  Adding more security to an installation may increase its costs somewhat, but may be a good investment for some situations compared to the risk of loss.

Utah pumped storage project seeks license

Electricity can be tricky to store once it is generated.  Batteries, flywheels, and other energy storage technologies can provide some storage capacity, but pumped storage -- using electricity to pump water uphill during times of low power pricing, and letting it fall back down to generate electricity when needed -- is the most-used bulk electricity storage medium in the US.  As of 2010, the United States was home to 21.5 gigawatts of pumped storage generating capacity.  Pumped storage can be used both to balance supply and demand on the electric grid and to arbitrage fuel and electricity costs. 


While some question whether electricity produced through pumped storage should qualify as renewable energy, pumped storage in the US is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as hydropower.  Most pumped storage projects will ultimately need a FERC license, but obtaining a preliminary permit is a typical first step in the approval process.  A preliminary permit gives a developer the right to investigate the feasibility of a project, typically for a three-year term, and convey exclusive first priority to file for a full license during that window.

This month, a proposed pumped storage in the Utah desert applied for a preliminary permit.  Utah Independent Power, Inc. filed its application to FERC for a preliminary permit for the Long Canyon Pumped Storage Project (18-page PDF).  Utah Independent Power proposes to build two dams to store water drawn from the Colorado River near Moab, Utah.  These dams would create an upper reservoir on the high plateau above Long Canyon and a lower reservoir at the end of Long Canyon.  The developer suggests that the power required for pumping would be supplied to the proposed project through the transmission grid using existing off peak power, while power would be produced by the project during peak periods and sold through the Western Electricity Coordinating Council grid at competitive peak rates.

The principals behind Utah Independent Power are no strangers to investigating pumped storage projects, having been involved in other proposals in the desert Southwest in recent decades.  Indeed, in 2008, Utah Independent Power applied for and obtained a preliminary permit for the Long Canyon Pumped Storage project.  (Here is Utah Independent Power's 2008 application, and the Commission's 2008 order issuing preliminary permit.)  Utah Independent Power surrendered that preliminary permit in 2011, along with another preliminary permit for the nearby Bull Canyon Pumped Storage project.  Its 2012 Long Canyon application bears significant similarities to its earlier proposal, with some differences including a slightly lower upper dam.

Utah Independent Power's proposal is likely to trigger significant interest.  On the one hand, being able to use existing natural resources -- in this case, Colorado River water and canyon topography -- to store electricity may be an attractive proposition.  On the other hand, Colorado River water is already scarce and at the center of water right fights.  Moreover, the Long Canyon project would lie close to scenic and protected lands, such as Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park.  An existing jeep road runs along Long Canyon, and the area receives both motorized and non-motorized recreation.  In 2008, the State of Utah filed comments questioning the applicant's rights to the necessary water and land, as well as the impacts to the viewshed and natural landscape from the dams, transmission lines, and other project facilities.

Park and forest service renewable energy

Managers of national and state parks and forests are considering whether they can cut their energy bill by developing distributed generation projects.  In many cases, distributed generation such as solar photovoltaic systems can be a good match for powering facilities like park headquarters, campgrounds, and maintenance buildings.  This can be especially true for places that are off the main electric grid, such as pockets of development within preserved lands.  It can also be true for grid-tied facilities, as incentives like net metering can make rooftop solar or other projects cost-effective for the end user.

Solar photovoltaic panels power the campground at Goblin Valley State Park, Utah.

Whether developed by a national park or state forest, connecting renewable generation to the grid involves working with the local electric utility.  In many parts of the country, interconnecting with the utility can be a challenging process.  Utilities typically must study whether the proposed generation can work with the existing set of transmission and distribution wires, and may get into disputes with customers over whether and how much upgrading is needed.  Some utilities claim to be swamped with interconnection requests, and are missing deadlines for studying system impacts and cooperating with customers.

In California, a different set of difficulties is preventing millions of dollars of renewable energy projects on federal land from connecting to the grid.  In response to economic incentives favoring distributed generation, the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service have developed major new renewable projects at a variety of sites in California.  For example, the Park Service developed an $800,000 solar project at Death Valley National Park, anticipated to cut 70% off the visitor center's annual electric bill of about $45,724.  The Forest Service developed a large solar project at its Mono Lake facilities, along with other projects at existing sites.  However, the federal agencies have been unable to sign interconnection agreements with utility Southern California Edison, meaning the parks' renewable projects remain idle despite federal policy supporting sustainable operations.

At issue is a provision of federal law that prevents agencies from signing contracts exposing them to the risk of unknown future damages because such contracts would commit money outside the congressional budgeting process.  Federal agencies have been able to work around this restriction with other utilities, as evidenced by Yosemite National Park's successful interconnection of its $5.8 million solar photovoltaic project with the Pacific Gas & Electric grid.  Southern California Edison appears to be a holdout.

Will 2012 see a continuation of the trend toward replacing diesel electric generation in parks and national forests with alternative resources?