The solar park was equipped with camera security and yet it could happen that the thieves entered the site. “It seems to me that these are professionals, because the signal wires of the cameras were cut. We are going to increase security further. We have placed a temporary camera mast until the camera security is back in order.”
Kloosterman was told of the theft through an app from the neighbour. “He saw a light burning. We also received a signal from the control room at half past four at night, but I saw nothing. I only discovered it the next day.”
The thieves have come through the fence at the center aisle of one side of the solar park. “They left the cables on the outside at the street side.”
The expectation is that the damage will be fully covered by the insurer, but Wiebe thinks that the requirements will be tightened. “Surveillance more often or inspect the alarm system more often. There will probably be additional requirements. It will probably not get any cheaper.”
David de Jong of Solarfields, a large operator of solar parks in Drenthe, says that following the thefts in Southeast Drenthe, it will be reviewed whether security needs to be tightened.
Solarfields already made great strides in the field of security last year. “We consciously no longer use copper above the ground, but aluminum. In addition, we have installed heat cameras at our solar parks. We also use good fencing to reduce the risk of burglary,” says De Jong.