A town in North Carolina has rejected a solar farm, in part, over fears that the panels were crowding out sunlight and suffocating vegetation.
The decision by the Woodland City Council last week also came after residents derided the project as an eyesore and potential environmental hazard.Strata Solar has previously received zoning permission for three solar farms in the area, but the thought of one more was apparently too much for some residents, including Jane Mann, a retired science teacher who said she was concerned about how the panels would affect the ability of local plant life to photosynthesize.She also wondered whether the panels might be affecting local cancer rates, the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald reported."I want to know what's going to happen," Mann said. "I want information. Enough is enough."
Brent Niemann, a representative for the company, was quick to point out, however, that solar panels don't attract sun rays away from surrounding vegetation.
"The panels don't draw additional sunlight," he said, according to an account of the meeting by the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald .
He added that no toxic materials are on the solar farm sites and called the panels "tried and true technology."
Still, residents railed against the project proposal as something that would squeeze the life out of the town in other ways, as well as pull down property values. Under pressure, the council voted in favor of a complete moratorium on the solar farms.