Solar Crime Spree Sweeps UK

Welcome to Electrical News Weekly in association with the Electric Heating Company . Whether you're listening in the van on site or down at the wholesale counter , I'm Joe Robinson and I've been through the best

of the electrical industry news to save you the trouble and as always , if you think you've spotted the two words that I've been challenged to slip into this week's show , comment with them below for the chance to win a prize . Police are reporting a solar crime spree this summer , as thieves make off with thousands of PV panels .

It appears criminal gangs have cut onto the fact that solar farms are valuable and vulnerable . The problem , say experts , is that installations are invisible outdoor locations which are difficult to protect . Police tell us that they're working to get on top of the crime .

Wave West Mercia Constabulary reports that it has recovered some 550 solar panels worth over £100,000 which were stolen from a farm in their region . A 23-year-old man is helping them with their inquiries . Inspector Dave Wise says that the recovery and arrest demonstrates the police's commitment to safeguarding renewable energy infrastructure .

It's not just the panels themselves that are being targeted . Crime reports show that copper cables , batteries and inverters are all being taken . Hot spots are mostly in rural areas , especially in the west and the southwest of England

. Former West Mercia police officer Gary Higgins advises installers to get the equipment forensically marked with smart water to make it traceable and less attractive to criminals . News of the crime spree comes hot on the heels of the revelation that Europe has the same amount of solar panels in warehouses as have already been installed .

According to a report , no less than 40 gigawatts of photovoltaic panels are in storage waiting to be shipped , but there are big bottlenecks to get through before the units can get onto roofs . The problems are we're really familiar , say environmentalists .

Tara Connolly of the campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels says that governments need to urgently expand training programmes for installers

, address grid connection problems and cut bureaucracy . She says if the panels were installed , they could replace 7 billion cubic metres of fossil fuels . One project , however , that has made it off the drawing board is a new solar car park for Northumberland County Council . The local authority has covered its parking area with a canopy made from PV panels .

It's been designed and built by UK power network services and will help provide clean energy to the council's

headquarters in Morpeth . It's expected that the install will save up to £150,000 on energy costs each year , which can be invested in council services . In other news , concern is mounting over the number of EV charges that are broken or otherwise not working .

One firm in the maintenance game estimates that as much as 30% of charge points are out of order in parts of the UK . Across the board , the calculation is that over 5% are faulty . Electric vehicle drivers will be familiar with the frustration of arriving at a charge point only to find it out of action .

The biggest problems are loss of power supply and connectivity issues with payment platforms . Other issues include cable damage , with dirt and litter finding its way onto the electrical contacts . Tom Gill of the EcoExpert says a simple answer to why so many EV charges are broken is that manufacturers are not building them to a reliable standard .

Despite statements to the contrary , the most dependable units appear to be Tesla's superchargers , which have a leading satisfaction score of 83% . This reliability is down to the product's inherent simplicity . Bp's extensive pulse network comes in at eighth place with a score of 68% . The main problems here is back off his connectivity .

Earlier this month , the government brought in new rules for public charging points . These state that all rapid charges must be reliable for 99% of the time during the year . Providers

of charges must also publish information about how reliable their kit is , and they must make this available on their website . Whether it fixes the problem remains to be seen . The spectacular growth of renewable technologies such as EV charges and solar panels is behind a major overhaul of the JTL electrical apprenticeship standard , which comes into force in September .

The body says that the installation and maintenance electrician standard in England is being transformed for the 21st century . The grade will now include a focus on sustainable kits such as renewables , led lighting , battery systems and smart building technologies . There's also a special section to improve candidates' digital skills .

Jtl says the plan is to create the next generation of electricians armed with the latest

green skills and able to connect low carbon technologies . The body has now launched a marketing campaign called your Future , our Planet , to get youngsters into the trade Now . How do you align the screws on a light switch or wiring accessory ? That was the question that we put in a special summer poll .

We wanted to know if you simply let the screw slots fall where they may or whether you took care to align them either vertically or horizontally . Well , the results are in , and a mere 16% of you admitted to being randomers , those who allow the screws to end up wherever they end up . You , mohawk sporting leather jacket , wearing anarchists .

You about a fifth of you thought they looked best lined up horizontally , but they were beaten by the straight up and down guys and gals at 27% , which is obviously the correct answer . But most of you asked expose

screws ? Is this 1960 ? Oh well , please yourselves . For the record , I'm a straight up guy , gary's a flat cap and Gordon's a randomer , but you'll probably guess that anyway . And very briefly , in other EFIX news , if you didn't catch last week's fortnightly live stream , then you missed an absolute corker of a show .

Industry giants Vargo guested in the form of the legend that is Carl Deakin presented . Eddie Clemens off of Pegasus Electrical and Control , with the EFIX Person of the Year award supported by Vargo .

And if that wasn't enough , special guest James Finney off of Finney Electrical stepped up to the plate and absolutely smashed the electricians challenge , rocketing to the top of the table on his very first attempt . And , what's more , he made it look like an absolute breeze . And we got to find out all about Gary's

holiday taking breast rubbings in various UK landmarks . If you're watching the video version of this podcast , then hopefully the image that just popped onto your screens won't haunt your nightmares like it has mine . Since last Wednesday In product news , scientists have come up with an alternative to solar panels .

Researchers at Tsinghua University in China have unveiled units which get their power from rain . It's all down to a clever device called a triboelectric nanogenerator . This creates electrification from the contact between solids and liquids . They're typically used to get energy from waves , but the boffins reckon they're an effective way to harvest raindrops .

Professor Zhong Li , who led the research , says that rainfall actually contains abundant renewable energy . In parts of the world where rain is more common than sunshine , the tech could turn homes into mini power stations . Are you listening , manchester ? That is pretty cool if it works , but to be honest , I'm

struggling to believe it could generate usable amounts of energy . I think it'd be better off harnessing the wind power from the wings of your pet budgerigar . Anyway , just before we get to your favourite bit of the show , where I revealed last week's Challenge Words and Winners , we want to thank our premium partners . We couldn't make the news without you .

First up there , the people who've created the Swiss Army knife of solar inverters , along with all-weather batteries Very much the Boy Scouts of the solar industry . It's SunSync Up . Next , for all your circuit protection needs . They're like having an Italian star striker in your premiership team . It's Ludum Palazzoli .

Next , they're your one-stop solution provider for EV installations , from domestic to large DC public charges . It's the ingenious and gifted Garo , the best thing to come out of Yorkshire since stainless steel . It's Doncaster Cables , the home of EV Ultra and other groundbreaking and quality cables .

And to fix all that gear together and to surfaces you need fasteners that would win a gold medal . It's Olympic Fixings . Big thanks to you all . We really appreciate your ongoing support for the news .

If you think you know the words that I've smuggled into this week's show , pop your guess into the comments and we'll dig out a goodie bag prize to the first to get the right answers .

Last week's words were koala and lipo suction , and we have a note of controversy for our winner this week , as it would appear that Kevin Henry VIII got in there first again , just ahead of another frequent winner , the Fella 172 .

However , I just happened to notice that the guesses weren't correct to start with from Kevin , but were subsequently edited to the right answers . However , because I'm a nice , reasonable guy and can't actually provide any proof of this in an E&W first , we're going to have two winners , so well done , kevin Henry VIII and the Fella 172 .

You've both won a prize , so click the link in the show notes to claim it . Before we go , just to let you know that if you'd like to be featured in next week's News , simply visit the news tab on efixcouk .

Tell us about any exciting new products you've discovered , any stories you've spotted or simply any issues that you believe deserve the community's attention . The EFIX team will then get on it and everything will be considered for future news bulletins . Thanks for listening to this episode of Electrical News Weekly , an association with the Electric Heating Company .

Make sure you subscribe to receive the next update . Thanks for listening and until next time , have a great week , stay safe out there and remember there's no such thing as a talk calibrated arm .