Unknown perpetrators stole 50 km of cable from a fenced solar farm in Ahorn-Berolzheim, Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany, a theft involving a ton of material that could not be removed discreetly. Police estimated the value at about €100,000, with repair costs likely to be higher.
The thieves must have used one or more trucks. The theft occurred between 2 p.m. (CEST) on Sept. 17, and 7 a.m. on Sept. 18. The Lauda-Königshofen police station asked for information from anyone who observed suspicious activity near the site.
The solar farm in Ahorn-Berolzheim has a capacity of 11 MW. When commissioned in 2010, it was one of the largest ground-mounted systems in Germany.
German broadcaster Südwestrundfunk reported an increase in cable thefts in the region. In July, copper cables worth €200,000 were stolen from a major construction site in the Heilbronn district.
In Spain, police broke up a group this spring that specialized in stealing copper from photovoltaic systems in Andalusia and Extremadura. A total of 23 people were arrested.
