Solar Farm stock

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A North Carolina town has rejected a proposal for a new solar farm over public fears that it would "suck up" all the energy from the sun.

In a public comment session on the proposed Strata Solar Company farm, Woodland resident Bobby Mann claimed the farm would absorb all the solar energy in the area, which would drive away business, The Independent reported.

His wife, retired science teacher Jane Mann, asked whether the panels would kill plants in the area by preventing them from photosynthesizing. She claimed to have seen brown and dead plants near other area solar farms because they weren't getting enough sunlight.

Jane Mann pointed to a high number of cancer deaths in the area, and said no one could confirm to her that solar panels don't cause cancer, according to the Roanoke-Chowan News Herald.

Other residents expressed concerns about property values dropping because of the solar farms already in the area. Woodland is a popular solar farm location because it has a substation that allows the panels to be hooked directly to the national grid.

Strata spokesperson Brent Niemann attempted to explain that the perceived negative impacts were imagined, and that the panels only absorb sunlight that hits them directly. They do not suck up other sunlight in the area.

"The panels don't draw additional sunlight," Niemann said. He also addressed the cancer concern, saying, "There are no toxic materials on site. This is a tried and true technology."

The NY Daily News notes that these solar farms would have to absorb more than 500 billion horsepower in one second in order to suck up all the energy from the sun.

In the end, the town council voted against the proposal, and went as far as to impose a moratorium on future solar farms over the resident's fears.

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