In a small town in North Carolina, plans were rejected for the rezoning of land for a solar farm. Those plans were stopped because residents of that small town voiced concerns about the issues that might occur when the solar farm was in place. Some of the issues they were concerned about included cancer, stopping plants from growing and because the solar farm might “suck up all the energy from the sun.”
According to the minutes of the Town Council meeting in Woodland, 2 of the citizens made these allegations.
Bobby Mann, one of the concerned citizens, made the statement that the farm would “suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not come to Woodland.” His statement was reported in the Roanoke-Chowan Herald-News.
Jane Mann, who interestingly is a retired science teacher, voiced her concern that the farm might hinder the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process that plants used to convert light energy from the sun into food. It was her concern that plants in the area of the solar farm would stop growing.
She was also convinced that solar power caused cancer.
Additional residents in the area were also fearful of the effect that solar power might have on their home values.
It was put to town counselors to vote on the rezoning of the land off of US Highway 258 for manufacturing. Currently, it was zoned for agriculture.
Brent Niemann, a representative for the Strata Solar Company, was also present at the meeting. He stated that “The panels don’t draw additional sunlight.” He also informed those at the meeting that the only sunlight used would be those that fell on the panels directly.
The counselors were informed that the farm would not affect property prices and that toxic substances would not be kept on the site.
Although they were assured of the safety of the solar farm, the Woodland Town Council turned down the proposal. In effect, they stopped the company from building the renewable energy ranch. The town Council even took it a step further, putting a moratorium on future solar farms being built in the area.
North Carolina ranks fourth in the United States for installed solar power capacity. Currently, 161 companies involved in solar power employ 3,100 people in the industry in North Carolina alone.
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