The theft of 62 kilometers of copper cables at the Oranjepoort solar park near Emmen is not an isolated incident. Many kilometers of cable work has also been stolen at the Pitrus solar park along the A37 near Barger-Compascuum. “A disaster,” says the owner.
This theft took place on Friday morning, March 24, between 4:30 and 6:30 a.m., according to police. “A disaster story,” says Johan Kloosterman. He owns the agricultural and biogas company Kloosterman, which operates the solar park on the Pitrus. According to Kloosterman, about 15 kilometers of copper cable work has been removed. “That costs us a lot of money, while the thieves may only have 5,000 euros worth of copper,” he gloomy.
‘Cut everything above the ground’
With its solar park of 39,000 panels, it generates electricity for about 3,000 families. “But at the moment about 40 percent of the park is out of order.” According to him, the copper thieves went to work ruthlessly. “All cables have been cut above the ground. So we have to replace everything, including the cables that are underground.”
It cannot be the security of his solar park, he says. “I have sirens, lights and cameras there, but the thieves still got in.”
‘You miss cables and revenue’
Ten days earlier, on March 14, copper thieves struck a few kilometers away at the Oranjepoort solar park between Emmen and Klazienaveen. At this large sunbathing area with 88,000 panels, no less than 62 kilometers of cable work was stolen. The damage is approaching 200,000 euros, operator GroenLeven said. “You not only miss the cables, but also the yield,” said spokesman Maarten de Groot.
Police: thefts are similar
It is still too early to link the two thefts. The two burglaries are similar, says police spokeswoman Renate Winkel. “In both cases, the fencing of the site was broken open. We will see if we can discover a connection.”
There is no sight yet on perpetrators. “We want to get in touch with local residents who may have seen something striking. Maybe cars have images on their dashcams,” says Winkel.
According to both energy companies, it is inevitable that several perpetrators are involved. Both Kloosterman and GroenLeven say that it is impossible to cut so many copper cables and take them with you on your own. Moreover, GroenLeven suspects that the thieves use large equipment. “You need big transport. You can’t fit that many cables on a trailer,” said De Groot.