World leaders in Paris may have lauded the future of renewable energy, but in small-town America, all that solar hocus-pocus is still viewed with a healthy dose of slack-jawed cynicism.

The good burghers of Woodland, North Carolina, have successfully torpedoed plans for a solar farm, arguing the panels would suck up all the sun's energy, cause cancer and drive young people out of town.

Local councillors initially voted to reject a rezoning application that would have allowed the Strata Solar Company to build the farm near a highway north of Woodland, the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald reported.

But then they went further, supporting a complete moratorium on new solar farms, after residents made their opposition crystal clear.