Photovoltaic Panels Stolen from Joshua Tree National Park

source: FEMP Focus newsletter 2001.7

While energy consumers in California are paying record prices for electricity from
the power grid, Joshua Tree National Park has been a national model for offsetting
the demand for, and cost of energy through its use of off-grid solar-powered
photovoltaic (PV) systems. This Federal Energy Saver Showcase facility’s success
story was recently marred by the theft of 14 PV panels at the Park’s Indian Cove
Campground amphitheater. The 3 x 4-foot panels, valued at approximately $6,000
each, supplied energy to the projection equipment used by park rangers to present
evening slide programs and to the lights that illuminate the pathway of the
amphitheater. In addition to the PV panels, all of the conduit lines and the
combination box were stolen.

The Department of the Interior has almost 1,000 such systems providing critical
energy for facility power, lighting, and water pumping. The systems are used
primarily at remote locations in California and other western states. The costs of
these systems range from a few thousand dollars to more than a million dollars.
With rising energy costs nationwide, they may be the targets of additional thefts.

The Interior Department’s Office of Managing Risk and Public Safety, with
assistance from the Office of Acquisition and Property Management, issued an
advisory to Interior’s law enforcement community regarding the theft at Joshua
Tree and the need to take steps to safeguard against potential thefts, particularly in
the wake of energy problems that a number of states are experiencing. Local law
enforcement authorities and the FBI were also notified about the theft at Joshua
Tree. National Park authorities at Joshua Tree are exploring steps to protect its
other systems.

For more information, please contact Michael Kaas of the Interior
Department at 202-208-3760 or michael_kaas@ios.doi.gov; or Debra
Sonderman of the Interior Department at 202-208-6352 or
debra_sonderman@ios.doi.gov.