Some of the equipment available to secure solar sites makes me smile with some nostalgia: thermal imaging systems, forward-looking infrared, high-definition television cameras queued by motion sensors. The sensors can be integrated, of course, with the feed run through algorithms capable of distinguishing a human intruder from, say, a deer.

As a former aerospace and defense journalist, I spent a lot of time covering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) programs intended for the various services. The simplest programs would have lifespans of 20 years. There was a tendency of some programs to continually become more complicated as new capabilities were added. Sometimes, new requirements would be tacked on because a related program had been canceled, but the requirements that defined it still existed. As programs became more complex, having to serve a wider range of users, they got more expensive. Often, such programs became too expensive and were canceled in their turn.

And yet, the requirements remain.

Providers of operations and maintenance (O&M) services for solar projects have a wide range of opinions on what the requirements for site security are. In all cases, O&M managers say, the emphasis on security for any given project is up to the owner of that project. Every project requires an extensive risk analysis. The tolerance levels of owners for risk and loss differ, as do the resources each is willing to commit for security systems.

Money spent on security must be weighed against the revenue generated from the project. The cost of a high-end security program can easily match the project’s O&M budget. Interestingly, some O&M managers say commercial rooftop projects have an advantage over ground-mount systems in this regard because they are essentially getting a free ride on the property’s existing security arrangements. The real challenge is to secure isolated ground-mount sites in remote areas or in reclaimed urban brownfields.

In their efforts to satisfy mission requirements under budget pressure, armed forces are increasingly turning to unmanned systems. It is not out of the realm of possibility that unmanned ISR systems could fit the bill for securing solar sites, as well.

The time may come, if the authorities having jurisdiction ever allow it, when companies will be able to task unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with some of the aforementioned sensor packages to overfly solar sites. A drone wouldn’t necessarily be assigned to a particular site; it would run a patrol pattern over a number of local projects that subscribed to the service. As the endurance of drones increases and the number of distributed generation solar projects proliferates, this might be a cost-effective alternative to fixed defenses and manned overwatch.