Photovoltaic theft is rife in Europe

As the number of photovoltaic installations in Europe continues to rise, opportunists are beginning to take advantage of this trend and are targeting PV power stations. According to the latest figures released by German security firm Viamon, over 5,000 major PV thefts have occurred in Europe each year for the past two years. Of these, the UK, Germany and Italy are the worst hit areas, with not only PV theft crime rates soaring, but also the amount of crime rising exponentially.

Huge economic losses

Recently, the British police cracked a major PV theft case, in addition to the modules stolen this year, the police also found the stolen goods in 2019. It is understood that this was an organised, premeditated and planned crime and the police not only discovered the organisation's personnel planted in nearby PV module factories, but also found documentation of plans to ship the stolen goods to Spain, indicating that the organisation had routes in place from the upstream source to the downstream distribution of the stolen goods.

The UK police then released a set of figures that showed a 93% increase in the incidence of PV theft in the UK in 2022 compared to 2021. "Rising energy consumption and a worsening cost of living crisis are the main reasons for the rapid increase in PV theft in the UK." Detective Superintendent James Taylor, who is responsible for PV theft detection, said.

The UK is not an isolated case, the whole of Europe is facing the same problem. viamon managing director Oliver Streck said that Germany is responsible for more than 400 major PV thefts each year. PV theft is also prevalent in southern Italy, where the incidence of PV theft is 10 times the European average.

The high incidence of PV theft brings with it direct economic losses. Oliver Stryker says that the average European PV theft can cost 60,000 euros. James Taylor, on the other hand, pointed out that in 2022, the cumulative damage caused by PV theft in the UK could be as high as £574,000. "This is a more conservative estimate and the actual losses could be higher."

Copper prices soar as main cause of theft

Industry media "photovoltaic magazine", citing the views of relevant sources, pointed out that at present, Europe's serious inflation, energy costs soaring, more and more people choose to install photovoltaic power generation systems to reduce daily energy expenses. On the other hand, the international copper market continues to shake and prices remain high, and as copper is an essential raw material in photovoltaic products, photovoltaic power stations are thus attracting the attention of unscrupulous people.

Rachel Oakley, head of criminal intelligence for the British town of Telford, said: "Copper is the main objective of thieves stealing photovoltaic products. Photovoltaic modules contain tinned copper strip and cables contain no less copper, and these two items are stolen most frequently."

The price of copper in the UK has reached £7,500 per tonne in February this year and is expected to exceed £10,000 per tonne within a year," said Rich Ivanoff, a member of staff at British utility BT (Group). Theft can be a 'good way' to save money on copper metal in Europe. Industry body statistics show that organised gangs can steal over 30 kilometres of cable in five hours."

Oliver Stryker added: "PV module theft is not too difficult either. In one case, thieves stole 15,000 PV modules in two days, and another organised gang accumulated a theft size of over 10 tonnes before being caught."

Rachel Oakley also points out that, in addition to copper, re-selling PV modules is a major way for criminal gangs to make a profit. "The criminal gangs take advantage of the public's desire to save money on their electricity bills and promote photovoltaic power generation. Some dealers sell products of unknown origin with incomplete formalities and paperwork, which makes the public an accomplice to the wrongdoers while harming their interests."

Disrupting the development of the PV market

British police say PV theft is a high-reward, low-risk crime. "Whether it's copper, or PV modules, these stolen goods are being sold with impunity on the internet. If this continues in the long term, it will disrupt the European PV market and have a negative impact on the development of the industry." James Taylor said, "For this reason, preventive measures must be taken to reduce the occurrence of crime."

A number of European renewable energy industry media pointed out that if PV theft cases are not effectively curbed, will reduce the enthusiasm of consumers to install photovoltaic power systems, which in turn may lead to a decline in the amount of installed photovoltaic, affecting the realization of the installed photovoltaic power generation target of European countries, hindering the energy transition process.

It is understood that, at present, the British police began and security company joint action, hope to be able to prevent photovoltaic theft in advance through technological means. A number of European security companies said that they have now established PV theft statistics system.

In addition, James Taylor suggested that stopping the crime from happening would also require good publicity. "Due to the rapid rise in electricity costs, the European public is becoming increasingly desperate to install PV systems and, in order to buy the products as early as possible, may choose 'trivial' dealers with faster delivery, allowing criminals to take advantage of the situation. Strengthening consumer awareness of PV products will help to deter a proportion of PV thefts."