" great news, thanks to the alert citizen, he/she ought to get an award or something. "

" This just shows what happens when people get involved. Law enforcement cannot be everywhere all of the time and good, concerned citizens can and do make a big difference. Kudos to the person who stopped these thiefs, I hope you get an award for this, you deserve it. "

" Good Job to the watchful citizen and all involved for getting these guy's. Hopefully they will get what they have coming.. "

" So what were they doing with the stolen solar panels? Were any of the other stolen panels recovered? "

" Great job by the citizen who didn't turn deaf, dumb and blind!!! That is the kind of community that Napa needs to be turning into. Not only would crime drop dramatically, people from out of town would get the message as well. "

" thats the way to get it done, nice work everyone!!!!!!!!!! "

" wonderful. My hat is off to the resident who reported the suspicious activity! And also to the NVR for consistantly reporting on the string of thefts involving these solar panels. :) "

" This is how it is done! What a great example of a citizen working with local law enforcement to protect our community. The cops can't do it alone and this person deserves a huge pat on the back. "

" Great they caught the guys, but what about the other theives? You know, the ones who bilked the tax payers of $2.7 million to install a solar power system that costs more to build and operate than having just stuck with regular old power from the grid? Just do the math, a savings of $100k per year means it will be 27 years before the solar panel system simply breaks even. And that does not include any cost of periodical maintenance. Do solar panels even last 27 years? Will this feel-good hug-a-tree project ever break even? Who was paid to instal and maintanin this solar power system? And who in government are the so well connected to? "

" Glad to hear some people were finally caught, thefts like these are such a dissappointment. "

" To Mikeb, Solar panels can last over a 100 years so that part is fine. So for 73 years the county is going to save at least 100k, probably more because the increase in PG&E Costs, so the county will probably save more in th 10 million dollar range. And lets not forget what if we have a major power catsatrophe, these solar panels will insure that water is being pumped from hennessy to the water treatment plant so it will still be safe for you to drink and not worry about getting disentary. Sounds like a good deal to me "

" mikeb - the cost of energy is going to go up over the next years as oil becomes more scarce and expensive. Also the city probably received a tax credit for this work. I congratulate them for getting this done. "

" Great job to everyone and my thanks also for our watchful good citizen. Let's all of us be more alert and call the police or Sheriff if we see something suspicious. Do you have local dispatch numbers programmed into your home or cell phones? If not, I suggest adding the numbers for the Sheriff, and other cities where you live, work or just drive through on a daily basis. The phone numbers are located in the phone book's blue pages.

To mikeb – As a financial conservative I support using the least costly means of creating and supplying energy. Like you, I'm a big fan of "regular old power from the grid" and nothing is as cost effective as electricity generated from coal power.

Well… I mean… unless you factor in the financial costs of cleaning up the billion gallons (enough to fill 1,660 Olympic swimming pools) of thick sludge that gushed from a Tennessee coal plant last week. There is a ton of "public money" being spent as cleanup crews try to remove the goop from homes, railroads and to stop it from oozing into the adjacent river.

Then there are the destroyed homes, undrinkable water, human health and environmental impacts - the full cost of which we may never know. And you worry about $2.7 million over 27 years. Chump change.

But you weren't thinking we get our electricity from coal were you? In California, our electricity comes from the magic electric ferry that flies around California dusting our homes with clean, green electricity so we can stay warm, light our homes and clean our clothes.

"Feel-good hug-a-tree project" indeed. What rubbish... or should I say sludge.

MvG "

" Great job by an alert citizen, but know that too many kudos can embolden citizens to turn in their neighbors when they see smoke coming from their chimneys... "

" Throw the book at them. "

" tiredofcomplainingnapkins, actually I just wasted 2 minutes and looked up the life expectancy of a Sanyo solar panel and, according to the Sanyo product web page their life expectancy is 20 years.

msdemo, yes the cost of energy will go up in the future, but this investment will not pay off or even break even within the short window of 20 years, even with increases to the cost of electricity.

Straight Talk, sarcasm and red herrings aside, the investment in this solar panel system at the time it was done still makes no sense, unless of course you are attributing the cause of all environmental issues everywhere to the power usage at Lake Hennessey, AND you ignore the environmental consequences of producing new and disposing of old solar panels.

Bottom line, the theives caught today belong in jail, but we need to get out of this mindset that everything labeled "green" is a worth while investment. Much of it is overpriced hype. "

" Just so that everyone is clear even though you have solar power does not mean the solar system will power the plant when or if PG&E loses power. All solar does is add credit back to the grid in turn using less power from the grid because you are adding power back. If PG&E lose power so will they unless they have generators for bacj up.

Solar is a great way to go and helps reduce the coal that is needed to generate electricity. Coal is nasty! "

" mike - I'll drop the sarcasm if you agree to drop the name calling. Agreed?

I totally agree, we need to take a close look at the environmental consequences of producing new and disposing of old solar panels. I don't know the facts about that and will take a closer look. I also agree with you that should not accept everything labeled "green" as a worth while investment.

Let's talk about the issue: Clean energy.

In 2007 - 48.6 percent of our nation's electricity was generated from coal. Nuclear energy produced 19.4 percent. Natural gas supplied 21.5 percent. Hydropower provided 5.8 percent. Fuel oil provided 1.6 percent of the generation mix. Renewable resources, such as geothermal, solar, and wind, provided 2.5 percent, with other miscellaneous sources providing the balance. - Edison Electric Institute statistics.

20 percent of California's electricity comes from coal plants in Nevada, Wyoming, Utah and other Western states. There are 27 new coal-fired power plants being proposed for the western United States. Is this really the best long-term and cost effective plan for our Nation and community? I don't believe it is.

Solar panels are a step in the right direction. The cost of solar panels makes sense as the cost of producing other energy increases. Mid-East wars, OPEC controls, environmental disasters like the coal sludge, and other costs must be added to your calculations when you compare the cost of solar to CO2 emitting energy sources.

You seem to care most, as I do, about costs. So, what do you believe is the real cost of doing nothing to change our usage and sources of energy? "

" Will these men lead to the use of the already stolen panels? "

" I am still trying to figure out how the thieves got through the locked gate, threaded past the half dozen or so occupied homes and got back out undetected TWO TIMES !!
Seems to me that there is more to this story .....
Every time I went into the park area next to the solar field people flooded from those homes to make sure I belonged there. "

" Cursus, foiled again!

It must be tough going from the solar business to the license plate business. "

" Spent $2.7 million for solar panels but couldn't spend a few more pennies for tamper proof screws and fasteners. Nice! "

" Why not mention the tons of carbon that's put in the air daily by these plants. China is building new ones all the time. All we have left is Nuclear and it's the way to go. We gave our technology on Nuclear to the French and now we're four years behind. Don't believe the 'hype'. "

" To: unidentified resident, Thank you for getting involved. Your a great example for all law abiding citizens in Napa County. Getting involved and assisting law enforcement will make our county a safer place. This is what makes Napa County different from alot of other crime ridden areas-people still want to protect our quality of life. Good work to our police, sheriffs and CHP officers. "

" Regarding the Hennessey solar project cost and benefits discussed by mikeb and others:

PG&E rebates covered nearly half of project costs, so price for City was just $1.5 million (not $2.7 million). Annual benefits have been $100,000 for first couple years but will escalate with electricity price inflation. Sanyo PV modules are warranted for performance for 25 years but should last more than 30.

From a purely financial investment standpoint, project has >20% internal rate of return even factoring in maintenance costs. "