A town in Woodland, North Carolina rejected a bid for a solar farm amid claims it would ‘suck-up all the energy” and drive out business.
The Woodland Town Council voted 3-1 to reject a proposal to rezone a section of land, stopping the solar plans in its tracks.
Members of the community spoke out against the solar bid before the vote.
Bobby and Jane Mann both took turns objecting to the plans, citing cancer, a lack of photosynthesis and negative effects on business, according to the local news outlet.
The Roanoke-Chowan News Herald reported Jane Mann, a retired science teacher, had “questioned the high number of cancer deaths in the area, saying no one could tell her that solar panels didn’t cause cancer”.
She added: “I want to know what’s going to happen.
“I want information. Enough is enough. I don’t see the profit for the town.
“People come with hidden agendas.
“Until we can find if anything is going to damage this community, we shouldn’t sign any paper.”
According to the local newspaper, Bobby Mann said “the solar farms would suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not come to Woodland”. later
He added: “You’re killing your town.
“All the young people are going to move out.”
The vote came after the local planning board had recommended the property be rezoned to allow Strata Solar Company to build a solar farm off US highway 258.
Three other solar farms had previously been accepted by the town council.
