Williams spokeswoman Donna Gray confirmed Monday that the energy company discovered that the solar panels were missing from several of its well pads near Parachute and called authorities. Gray said that the solar panels were relatively small in size, and access to the well pads is fairly easy.
“There aren't people on every location,” she said. “
would be easy for someone to take.”
Gray said that the solar panels that were taken are used to fuel a separator pump, which is a piece of production equipment used in separating the natural gas from other fluids as it's extracted from the ground.
The panels also power the well's telemeters, which track data regarding the well's functions, such as production volumes, and transmits the information to field technicians.
Gray said that Williams alone has 3,000 well pads in Western Colorado and each of them has a solar panel.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20090901/VALLEYNEWS/908319991/1074/rss01