[RE-wrenches] Spot welding PV's to rails for theft prevention: bad idea?

[Nick Soleil]

The BP oil company installed a ton of solar arrays for cathodic protection in 
the desert near Bakerfield in the 80s and 90s.  They used Arco and Kyocera 
modules at ~50 watts each.  They had a terrible time with theft, so they began 
welding the modules to the racks and the racks to the steel structures.  
However, the thieves persisted, by cutting the steel substructures with torches 
to get the modules.  

    Eventually, BP brought in the utility power.  Too bad.  The good thing was 
that I got to buy the remaining 600 used modules for a good price. 


 Nick Soleil
Project Manager
Advanced Alternative Energy Solutions, LLC
PO Box 657
Petaluma, CA 94953
Cell:   707-321-2937
Office: 707-789-9537
Fax:    707-769-9037




________________________________
From: Allan Sindelar <allan at positiveenergysolar.com>
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Sent: Fri, March 4, 2011 4:06:53 PM
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Spot welding PV's to rails for theft prevention: bad 
idea?


Mick,
Direct Power did this some years ago on a piece of Interstate roadside art. I 
think it worked quite well to discourage theft. You might want to call DP&W for 
info; I'd talk with Jeff.
Allan at Positive Energy 

On Mar 4, 2011 12:22 PM, "Mick Abraham" <mick at abrahamsolar.com> wrote:
> Hello, we mounted some PV onesy modules as high as we could reach without a
> man-lift, but an enterprising thief could reach just as high. The "side of
> pole" mounts hold the bolt heads captive so I bought some aluminum
> "breakaway" nuts. However the nuts have a big diameter which would not fit
> inside the Kyocera PV frames.
> 
> Has anyone tried spot welding the PV frames direct to the aluminum rails to
> which they are mounted? Would this over stress the glass laminate or cause
> other problems? I realize this would void the Kyo warranty but nothing voids
> system performance like a stolen PV module.
> 
> Happy Friday,
> 
> Mick Abraham, Proprietor
> www.abrahamsolar.com
> 
> Voice: 970-731-4675



      
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