SONA Security Ltd

01/01/2025

Happy New Year to all of our staff, clients, service partners, friends and followers.

We have just passed our 4th anniversary since incorporation and whilst we had the best intentions over the last 12 months to be a bit more creative with our social media, we have failed dismally.

The reason is of course that we have been far too busy working and doing what we do best - keeping 300 or so solar farms and associated infrastructure sites as safe as possible.

Turnover is up again on last year and the number of sites covered is always increasing, but it's not just down to us - we utilise carefully chosen service partners around the UK and as always we would like to thank them for their continuing support in delivering a service to the renewable energy sector that is second to none.

We have in the past few months also moved into the technical side of security, offering rapidly deployable temporary security systems in partnership with Co-op Secure Response (East of England Co-operative Society's security division) to all solar clients.

Coupled with our unique specialised response and patrol service, we are utilising our 5 plus years of experience in the sector to deploy systems exactly where they are needed based on the M.O.'s that we are seeing and the most recent intelligence available.

To date not one site where we have equipment deployed has been unlawfully entered.

We have also recently founded the Renewable Energy Crime Intelligence Network (RECIN) backed by Co-op Secure Response, which looks to enable the gathering of current, accurate and detailed intelligence to help site owners, operators and security companies around the UK better protect their renewable assets.

We believe that with the use of our experience, technology, actionable intel and sector leading response service, 2025 and beyond will be an even better time to use SONA Security for the protection of renewable assets.

Have a great 2025!

Hopefully we will catch up again soon...

22/12/2024

23/06/2024

Yesterday evening the sun set on our 12 month plus commitment to a solar site construction project near Wisbech.

The 50mw site had been under construction since early 2023, but an unfortunate series of events highlighted issues with the previous security provider. We were approached based on our reputation just after lunchtime on a sunny May 2023 afternoon to provide dog handlers to the site immediately, with a view to us continuing this until September when it was envisaged the site may go live.

One of our directors, our ops manager Tom and Jamie Treloar from Just Protect It Ltd hot footed it across to the site in time for an induction at 1800hrs, and carried out the first night's shifts between us, whilst getting the opportunity to get signage erected and AI's and policies in place, as well as sampling the local cuisine.

The following evening and with the assistance of Just Protect It and K9 Security Protection Ltd, we had guards and dog handlers on site, inducted and briefed and out on the ground.

A couple of months later we also had the local national grid sub-station thrown into the mix, as the output from the site had to be taken along public roads for about 4 miles between the site and the sub-station, meaning a guard at the sub-station and subsequent patrols of the road network.

The site was connected successfully to the sub-station before Christmas 2023 and guarding stood down from there, but continual issues with finalising the CCTV install delayed our final departure from the main site until yesterday.

A 50mw site in current times is deemed quite large and it takes a good 90 minutes to walk around. This particular one has access across fields or from tracks to at least 80 percent of its fenceline making unauthorised access far easier than usual when there is no security system in place.

Given that this part of eastern England has been especially suffering with solar farm crime in recent years, with sites locally being broken into during the same period, we are delighted to report that we did not have one single reported breach of the site during the entire 13 months, a stark constrast to other sites nearby being built or already completed.

In fact the only incident of note was a refrigerator dumped in an opening in the road between the site and the sub-station.

Further more, we didn't receive a single complaint about our staff and constantly received a great deal of praise from each and every senior manager that worked at the site. Quite miraculous in this day and age!

We can only put all of this down to our ladies and gentleman on site carrying out their security tasks with great pride and diligence.

We love the saying, "You make your own luck", and we make ours by using tried and tested staff and service partners always, and keeping a firm grip on everything that goes on and addressing even the slightest issue immediately!

Thank you to all of our own staff, and to those of our service partners for their commitment to this site - it is greatly appreciated.

A special thanks to Stefan Bratu - an exceptional guard who was responsible for the main site offices and storage areas for the entire duration of the project. Never a day off that wasn't rostered, developed an amazing rapport with all of the client's staff and especially the managers, never ever missed a check call or evidence upload, and always happy to change his hours or responsibilities on site at short notice. "Esti o legenda!"