US town blocks solar farm, fears cancer, losing photosynthesis

[Syt]

http://arstechnica.co.uk/science/2015/12/north-carolina-citizenry-defeat-pernicious-big-solar-plan-to-suck-up-the-sun/

US town blocks solar farm over fears it would "suck up all the energy from the Sun"

Town council votes to deny zoning permit that would allow solar farm development

The citizens of Woodland, North Carolina have spoken loud and clear: they don't want none of them highfalutin' solar panels in their good town. They scare off the kids. "All the young people are going to move out," warned Bobby Mann, a local resident concerned about the future of his burg. Worse, Mann said, the solar panels would suck up all the energy from the Sun.

Another resident—a retired science teacher, no less—expressed concern that a proposed solar farm would block photosynthesis, and prevent nearby plants from growing. Jane Mann then went on to add that there seemed to have been a lot of cancer deaths in the area, and that no one could tell her solar panels didn't cause cancer. "I want information," Mann said. "Enough is enough."

These comments were reported not in The Onion, but rather by the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald. They came during a Woodland Town Council meeting in which Strata Solar Company sought to rezone an area northeast of the town, off of US Highway 258, to build a solar farm. The council not only rejected the proposal, it went a step further, voting for a complete moratorium on solar farms.

That seemed to please the residents evidently tired of Big Solar's relentless intrusion into their community. One resident, Mary Hobbs, said her home was surrounded by solar farms and has lost its value. That led Ars to the satellite view of Woodland on Google Maps, to see if we could verify the veracity of Hobbs' claims. This publication will not look the other way as Big Solar attempts to railroad the good citizens of small-town America. Alas, when we looked at the satellite view we didn't see any sign of solar farms as we perused the verdant fields and woods of the aptly named Woodland.

Original article:

http://www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com/2015/12/08/woodland-rejects-solar-farm/

Woodland rejects solar farm

WOODLAND – The Woodland Town Council rejected a proposal to rezone a section of land north of town to M2 (manufacturing) from RA (residential/agricultural), essentially denying approval of a solar farm.

Newly sworn in councilman Cecil Harkey voted against the motion to reject rezoning the land, while council members David Cooper, Ron Lane, and Pat Liverman voted to approve it following public comments against the rezoning.

The Planning Board had recommended the property be rezoned to allow Strata Solar Company to build a solar farm off U.S. highway 258.

Three other solar farms had previously been accepted by the town council, with one of the now putting solar panels up.

The solar farm companies seek placement around Woodland because it has an electrical substation the solar power generated by the panels can be hooked up to the electrical grid.

Strata's proposal would have competed encircling the Woodland substation.

Later in the meeting, the Town Council voted for a complete moratorium on solar farms.

During the public comment period preceding the rezoning vote, citizens expressed distrust and fear of the solar panels.

Jean Barnes said she represented many citizens who rejected any more solar farms coming to the Woodland area and presented a petition to the council.

Barnes asked that any future solar farm request be put to a referendum so the citizens can make the decision.

Mary Hobbs has been living in Woodland for 50 years and said she has watched it slowly becoming a ghost town with no job opportunities for young people.

She said her home is surrounded by solar farms and is no longer worth its value because of those facilities.

She added that the only people profiting are the landowners who sell their land, the solar companies, and the electrical companies.

The next speakers were Bobby and Jane Mann.

Jane Mann said she is a local native and is concerned about the plants that make the community beautiful.

She is a retired Northampton science teacher and is concerned that photosynthesis, which depends upon sunlight, would not happen and would keep the plants from growing. She said she has observed areas near solar panels where the plants are brown and dead because they did not get enough sunlight.

She also questioned the high number of cancer deaths in the area, saying no one could tell her that solar panels didn't cause cancer.

"I want to know what's going to happen," she said. "I want information. Enough is enough. I don't see the profit for the town.

"People come with hidden agendas," she said. "Until we can find if anything is going to damage this community, we shouldn't sign any paper."

Bobby Mann said he watched communities dry up when I-95 came along and warned that would happen to Woodland because of the solar farms.

"You're killing your town," he said. "All the young people are going to move out."

He said the solar farms would suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not come to Woodland.

Strata then addressed the council and audience. Several company representatives, to include Beth Trahos and Sam Judd and Brent Niemann spoke about solar farms.

They changed the plan to increase setback from the road and said the solar farm would be have substantial amounts of vegetation.

Trahos said solar farms are proven to be safe and exist next to homes. She said there are no negative impacts on property values statewide.

"There are no negative impacts," Trahos said. "A solar farm is a wonderful use for a property like this."

The town would not benefit from the solar farms because they are not located within the town limits, but only in the extraterritorial sections.

The only funding the town would get is about $7,000 per year to train the fire department in case something goes wrong.

Niemann said the only sunlight the panels use to generate power is that which hits them directly.

"The panels don't draw additional sunlight," Niemann noted.

The power generated would go directly into the electrical grid and would not reduce Woodland's power bills.

"There are no toxic materials on site," Niemann said. "This is a tried and true technology."

Mayor Kenneth Manual called for the vote, which was 3-1 against rezoning the land (the mayor only votes in case it is tied).

The council later voted for a moratorium on future solar farms.

[grumbler]

Love the reporting on this:  the town councils votes, and then the news story quotes someone who didn't vote, and says that's the reason for the vote.

[Syt]

Love the reporting on this:  the town councils votes, and then the news story quotes someone who didn't vote, and says that's the reason for the vote.

Yeah, it's the reason I posted the original story. I'm guessing the main point for the council is that they get no real, direct benefit from the re-zoning. But the views of the citizens are still, "interesting," and they make for a better headline.

[grumbler]

Yeah, it's the reason I posted the original story. I'm guessing the main point for the council is that they get no real, direct benefit from the re-zoning. But the views of the citizens are still, "interesting," and they make for a better headline.

I'd argue that those headlines are hardly "better," since they are essentially lies, but I agree that they make better clickbait.

I found it interesting that Ars completely ignored, I guess because the truth would ruin the impact of their narrative, that the town had already approved three other solar farms, and that this fourth farm was the last one available, so rejecting this rezoning was the moratorium.

[lustindarkness]

I don't think they see the real reasons that "All the young people are going to move out".

Well, at least Mrs. Jane Mann retired and is no longer teaching science, so there is some positives here..

[grumbler]

I don't think they see the real reasons that "All the young people are going to move out".

Well, at least Mrs. Jane Mann retired and is no longer teaching science, so there is some positives here..

Yeah, a teacher who taught that plants rely on photosynthesis should have been fired, not allowed to retire.

[Berkut]

I know this should neither surprise or bother me anymore, but this kind of bullshit journalism is really fucking lame.

It is basically professional trolling.

[MadBurgerMaker]

The ars bullshit version of this seems to be spreading. 

[grumbler]

The ars bullshit version of this seems to be spreading.

Some Brits on another forum were using a telegraph article essentially providing the same bogus story (but not citing the AT version, just the original story).  They were unwilling to admit that an incomplete and misleading story in a British paper was less truthful than the more complete story the Telegraph themselves were citing.  It's amusing how much people cling to comforting lies even in the face of facts.

[Valmy]

Euros love stories about how stupid and contemptible Americans are. They are clearly playing to their audience.

[Hamilcar]

Look a those stupid and contemptible American country bumpkins. 

[Norgy]

I knew this was too perfect to be true. 

[Valmy]

Look a those stupid and contemptible American country bumpkins. 

See!

[Archy]

[duelling banjos]

[Berkut]

Love the reporting on this:  the town councils votes, and then the news story quotes someone who didn't vote, and says that's the reason for the vote.

What really bugs me about this is the ethics of the reporting.

It is not just that someone is misleading others, that happens all the time (not that grossly unethical journalism doesn't happen all the time as well).

It is that journalism, practiced like this, is actively betraying the very thing that journalism is supposed to be about - informing people so that they can, hopefully, make better decisions.

This is actively using your position as a journalist to create a view that you absolutely know is completely untrue, because reporting the actual story won't generate as much revenue.

It is like finding out that the narcotics unit of the local PD is actually involved in selling drugs.