Whose Fault Is It Anyway?

But major blunders and miscalculations over the last six years cost the program $10 million, including $4 million for designs of solar and wind installations that would never move to construction. One of the biggest problems: Three solar arrays had to be abandoned because they were planned to be built above seismic faults.

The missteps, uncovered as part of a six-part Los Angeles Times investigation of the college construction program, offer a sobering lesson to builders of public and commercial buildings who plan arrays of photovoltaic panels: Check nearby seismic faults beforehand.