" Someone should contact all of the solar installers in the area so that they are aware of this theft, just in case someone contacts them for an installation. Check Ebay and Craigslist too.

This worries me. I hope it doesn't become a trend. It might discourage people from investing in solar. "

" 10PM--Security staff bedtime? "

" Having 6 acres of solar collectors unprotected is a typical management failure by the college. Another mismanagement and waste of taxpayer funds. The college also fails to provide a fund to maintain its facilities and is unwilling to do so because all excess income goes to teacher and staff salaries and benefits. "

" Our tax dollars at work... "

" Are the parts or materials valuable, or is it likely that the panels will be resold or used whole, or is this a case of thoughtless vandalism? Just wondering.... "

" how pathetic!!! people need to get lives and jobs to pay for their own things "

" Get use to this kind of stuff as a trend. I had gas taken from my old pick-up truck and they even took my emergency gas can to put it in. It looks like it's going to survival mode from now on. "

" The savages are at it again ruining things for everyone - and the "blame the college for everything" game has begun already.

Education leads to liberalism, and we can't have any more of that, can we - folks might get a clue - best to harp on the local educational institutions as much as possible and try to reduce them to unfunded rubble.

You can't take apart a PV panel for components, it is what it is. Someone knew exactly what they were going for when they took them - they'll probably be resold (I'd bet "as new", too, ripping off the new owners with a shortened lifespan), and definitely used whole. "

" I have seen the solar panel fields and there is significant security. The road to the solar panels is locked at sundown every night, the solar field is also fenced in. Someone had to go to a lot of trouble to steal these. We can only have so much security, desperate people will do desperate things and someone will always find a way around security. "

" Education doesn't HAVE to lead to Liberalism. It does in most public schools in California thanks to the CTA and the Democrats. While Liberalism definitely has a component of incompetence ("we have to level the playing field, etc...") I don't think that is what is drawing the criticism here. This is just plain old fashioned, bureaucratic incompetence. Some of us predicted this would happen, along with increased vandalism and lack of maintenance... "

" I would like to why the college is charging softball player's to park in the back lot and the city of napa won't do anything about it. It is really sad that they would do this to peolpe just wanting to have a little fun. "

" napa wine guy, you are exactly right. We are entering the era of limited resources combined with too many people competing for them. It's the infancy of "survival mode".

Bad people are going after the very fabric, (our community colleges), which hold our middle class together. Their conscience cannot reach beyond "me NOW". They do not believe in community. As our resources become more restricted and costly, their victimization will reach outward, beyond institutions to affect all of us.

It's the "boldness" which concerns me most. And here's a college trying to do what's right to conserve energy. This makes me sick.

Is anyone out there willing to check eBay and craigslist for awhile to see if these panels show up? I might do it but I'd like some help. The thieves might have put them in a truck and taken them elsewhere though. Maybe someone should contact ebay and craigslist and alert them. "

" With the economy the is right now things are just going to get worse. People will do anything when he or she does not have an income to support their families. "

" napan79, stealing $40,000. solar panels probably involves more than just wanting to support a family. We have social services for those types of people. Additionally, there are free food services available. No one starves, at least for now, in our country. They just need to know how to locate such resources.

The economy certainly plays a role but probably in a different way than you think. When the economy sours, people who are recreational drug users find cheaper sources of entertainment. The drug addicts who were dependent on income from recreational users now have a fix to feed but nothing to support it. The ladder for those who are higher up begins to fall. Those guys accustomed to lavish lifestyles, the ones you see driving around in gas guzzling Hummers with dark tinted windows that make you wonder how the driver paid for it, they are the ones willing to go after big ticket items which are in fairly high demand. They probably have their lower level guys do the dirty work.

Pay attention. More and more of them are going to emerge from the woodwork and become visible in ways we don't like. There's a huge underground economy dependent on illegal activity. These people are not resourceful in the sense of self care. This group will wreak havoc on us as our resources, the type we are dependent on for survival, become prohibitively expensive.

The answer is not simply creating an environment of cheaper resources though. We need to address the dependency issue while slowing our population growth down. "

" Infrastructure theft is a growing epidemic (for example aluminum bridge guardrails) but here in Napa it's just bizarre - the wiring out of the Napa River railroad bridge and now solar panels? Maybe use a little of that solar energy savings to pay for a surveillance camera? "

" That's the whole point Otto, there is no "savings" when you factor in the vandalism, extra security, maintenance, etc.... "

" Look at the bright side, at least these are “green” thieves. They are not stealing gasoline that produces greenhouse emissions. So they will sell and perhaps even install these $40,000 solar panels on some homes (illegally), netting perhaps $10,000 in the process. The college will replace the panels at full value. Perhaps the college will even invest in some added security. The net effect is more solar energy usage and some economic stimulus. "

" Skip, I admire you for seeing the bright side of a bad situation! LOL! "

" Now is this what you'd call a "green" thief? "

" Solar panels are very expensive, at least so I'm told. Do you believe everything you are told? "