Solar Farms Under Siege: The UK’s Rising Wave of High-Tech Thefts

In the quiet countryside of the UK, a new kind of crime wave is unfolding—one that targets the very infrastructure powering the green revolution. According to security firm DeterTech, solar farms are increasingly in the crosshairs of organized thieves, with incidents soaring from just three in February 2025 to 11 in March and April alone. The stakes? Millions in equipment, costly downtime, and a glaring vulnerability in renewable energy security.

The Anatomy of a Solar Heist

The 11 reported cases spanned seven counties—Dorset, Sussex, Essex, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Worcestershire, and Staffordshire—revealing a pattern of brazen, calculated thefts. Six involved direct equipment theft, while two were cases of hostile reconnaissance, suggesting meticulous planning. Thieves aren’t just snatching panels; they’re after high-value components like string cables, with one site losing £90,000 worth in a single month after being hit three times.

“These aren’t opportunistic crimes. They’re orchestrated operations,” says a DeterTech analyst. “In Derbyshire, criminals even used a distraction tactic to lure security away before stripping cables.”

Why Solar Farms Are Soft Targets

Repeat attacks plague sites that lack visible security upgrades, exposing a critical gap in deterrence. Unsecured farm gates near perimeter fences often serve as red flags for criminal activity. Meanwhile, the thieves’ methods are evolving: from drones scouting sites to coordinated teams disabling alarms. The timing is no accident either. With peak solar generation season (May–August) approaching, downtime becomes exponentially costlier for operators.

Locking Down the Sun

DeterTech’s recommendations read like a counterinsurgency manual: daily fence inspections, live-monitored CCTV, and alarm systems that trigger immediate response. But the most urgent call is for better reporting. Many incidents go unlogged, leaving law enforcement in the dark. Operators are urged to flag everything—thefts, suspicious vehicles, even unusual foot traffic—to DeterTech and Opal, the national police unit tackling infrastructure crime.

As solar capacity expands, so does its attractiveness to thieves. The question isn’t just about recovering stolen cables—it’s about hardening the backbone of clean energy before the next wave hits.