The town council of Woodland, North Carolina, rejected a proposal for a solar farm after concerned citizens expressed their concerns that solar panels would “suck up the sun.”
Among the concerned citizens was Jane Mann, a retired science teacher. Mann warned that plants in the area would not be able to photosynthesize sunlight with solar panels nearby. She also suggested that the solar panels may cause cancer, and said that no one could tell her otherwise. Scientific evidence has never suggested that solar panels may cause cancer.
Bobby Mann, another resident, warned that the solar panels would suck up the sun’s energy and destroy the town in the long run.
I could put solar panels on my house, but then what happens if the Sun burns out? Huh? Bet you stupid tree-huggers didn’t think of that!
— Top Conservative Cat (cat/cat) (@TeaPartyCat) June 14, 2014
“You’re killing your town,” he said. “All the young people are going to move out.”
In the past few years, the Woodland town council has approved three solar farms, one of which recently started to install solar panels.
Representatives from Strata, the company which is building the panels, assured the council that the panels did not use any toxic chemicals, did not draw any additional sunlight, and that the technology was “tried and true.”
Ultimately, the council rejected the proposal for a new solar farm with a 3-1 vote.
Featured image via Flickr
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