The Independent: U.S. Town Rejects Solar Panels Amid Fears

A U.S. town has rejected a proposal for a solar farm following public concerns. Members of the public in Woodland, North Carolina, expressed their fear and mistrust in response to the proposal to allow Strata Solar Company to build a solar farm off Highway 258.

During the Woodland Town Council meeting, one local man, Bobby Mann, said solar farms would suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not go to Woodland, the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald reported.

Jane Mann, a retired science teacher, said she was concerned the panels would prevent plants in the area from photosynthesizing, stopping them from growing.

Charlotte Observer: Governor Seeks to Assure Lawmakers Faraday Is a Good Deal

As Nevada lawmakers prepare to vet a $335 million incentive package aimed at attracting a Chinese-backed electric carmaker to the state, Gov. Brian Sandoval is seeking to assure them that it is worth their while.

Faraday Future is expected to get up to $215 million in direct tax abatements and credits for building a $1 billion plant in North Las Vegas, the governor said. But the company is expected to bring state and local governments $760 million in tax revenue over 15 years, for a 3-to-1 return on investment. Faraday's total economic impact on Nevada over that period is projected to be $85 billion, mostly through wages paid to an estimated 4,500 direct employees, plus workers in 9,000 indirectly created jobs.

Associated Press: The World's Carbon Diet Starts

The world is about to go on a carbon diet. It won't be easy -- or cheap.

Nearly 200 nations across the world on Saturday approved a first-of-its-kind universal agreement to wean Earth off fossil fuels and slow global warming, patting themselves on the back for showing such resolve.

On Sunday morning, like for many first-day dieters, the reality sets in. The numbers -- like calorie limits and hours needed in the gym -- are daunting.

How daunting? Try more than 7.04 billion tons (if you really want to have your eyes bug out, that's 15.5 trillion pounds). That's how much carbon dioxide needs to stay in the ground instead of being spewed into the atmosphere for those reductions to happen, even if you take the easier of two goals mentioned in Saturday's deal. To get to the harder goal, it's even larger numbers.

Sydney Morning Herald: Turnbull Overturns Abbott's Wind Power Investment Ban

Malcolm Turnbull has lifted Tony Abbott's controversial ban on government investment in wind power, in his first major break from the former regime's environmental policy.

Fairfax Media can reveal that Environment Minister Greg Hunt has issued the Clean Energy Finance Corporation with new orders that negate the Abbott government's June decree, which prohibited the $10 billion green bank from investing in new wind power projects.

The move is expected to give the multibillion-dollar wind industry a boost and inject renewed confidence into the renewable sector more broadly.

Bloomberg: VW to Add Flat Batteries to Boost Sales of Electric Vehicles

Volkswagen AG is preparing to integrate flat batteries into future cars as the German manufacturer plans to boost its electric-vehicle lineup following its emissions manipulation scandal.

The company expects demand to increase rapidly as the range of battery-powered vehicles is growing and costs are declining substantially, VW brand chief Herbert Diess said, according to a transcript of an interview with the internal staff newspaper “Insight” that was obtained by Bloomberg. The newspaper will be sent to workers on Monday.