Winery Solar Thefts Spread

Napa Valley vintners continue to be victimized; new company launches security systems

Napa Valley, Calif. -- Over the weekend, 25 solar panels were stolen from a prominent Rutherford winery that wants to remain unnamed. "We don't want to advertise that we have a solar array," an owner said.

The winery recently had landscaped a secondary entrance to their vineyard, and the thieves drove through the new landscaping to get to the site, breaking down new trees and bushes. The Napa Valley Sheriff has been to the scene.

Ironically, the winery had designed a security system for the array, but it had not yet been installed. "We have a temporary system in place now, and are installing a permanent one," the vintner said. She added that the array couldn't be seen from off the property, so she suspects an inside job or someone who had visited the vineyard.

This is only the latest theft of solar panels from Napa Valley wineries, which have installed many solar arrays.

Miner, Harris Ranch, Honig and ZD vineyards also have been hit, the latter two twice each. ZD, Honig and Miner Family are fairly close together near the Silverado Trail in Rutherford, while Harris Ranch is in the Mayacamas Mountains.

At ZD, 200 of the 700 panels were stolen in November, then 44 were seized in April. Honig lost 39 panels.

At Harris Ranch, the thieves cut a fence and drove near the homes of workers who live on the property.

At Miner, winemaker Gary Brookman reported that the crooks hit Friday or Saturday night of Labor Day weekend -- brazenly leaving a truck parked on Silverado Trail, cutting both a neighbor's fence and one around the array to gain access. The panels are attached with unusual security bolts, but the crooks pried off the panels. "They knew what they were doing," Brookman said. "They disconnected wires, and without damaging anything but the clamps that held them in place."

As in some of the previous jobs, they also left some tools at the site.

The panels are about 2 feet by 3 feet, and typically weigh between 30 and 40 pounds. They cost about $1,000 new, and wineries report that insurance companies typically cover the cost.

So far, there are no firm clues to who the thieves are. Capt. Tracy Stuart of the Napa County Sheriff's department suspects they could be either shady contractors getting "discount" materials to install, or the thieves could be using them themselves. Some have speculated that marijuana farmers, who are active in many remote parts of Northern California, could be stealing the panels to run pumps for the water they steal or other uses.

Capt. Stuart suggested that owners install security systems to notify alarm companies, so they can call the sheriff's department while the perpetrators are still on site. "An alarm or light doesn't help much if they're in the country, where no one can see or hear it."

Stuart will be issuing some guidelines to owners of solar arrays shortly. She also suggests owners reach out to their neighbors about suspicious activities.

Two men were arrested in December on a citizen's tip after they stole panels from the City of Napa water supply reservoir on Silverado Trail.

The thefts have inspired at least one company to develop and promote security systems designed specifically for solar arrays. Gridlock Solar Security of Santa Rosa announced that it offers a comprehensive suite of scalable security solutions designed to work with virtually any major solar energy system. The patent-pending devices include local alerts, visual and audible alarms and radio or telephone contact with public or company security when any tampering is detected.

The systems are designed with redundancy and built-in resistance to rewiring or bypassing. The company claims that the total cost of a Gridlock security system is designed to be less than 1% of the total cost of solar installations.

Gridlock Solar Security is a privately funded corporation that is an incubate spin-off of the University of Northern California's Science and Technology Innovations Center. For further information, contact Tyson Berg, director of business development at Gridlock Solar Security, at (707) 636-5970 or gridlocksolar.com.