THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: ToxicAdam on December 13, 2015, 02:07:18 AM

Title: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: ToxicAdam on December 13, 2015, 02:07:18 AM
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.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Great Rumbler on December 13, 2015, 02:40:57 AM
I'm sure it must be the solar panels that are driving away all the young people, not the fact that Woodland is a crappy little town in the middle of nowhere.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Tasty on December 13, 2015, 04:18:20 AM
It's called Woodland, not Solarland. :wag
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Joe Molotov on December 13, 2015, 04:45:54 AM
God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and his solar farm. :wag
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Rufus on December 13, 2015, 08:11:28 AM
Retired science teacher. Yeah OK.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Stoney Mason on December 13, 2015, 10:28:41 AM
I bet they are Trump Voters.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Your Stalker on December 13, 2015, 10:38:09 AM
Let god sort 'em out!
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Dennis on December 13, 2015, 11:00:16 AM
Quote
He said the solar farms would suck up all the energy from the sun and businesses would not come to Woodland.

Black hole sun, black hole sun, won't you come.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Madrun Badrun on December 13, 2015, 11:16:36 AM
Wow that's backwards. Thought towns like this had all been killed off by Great Old Ones.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: tiesto on December 13, 2015, 01:26:33 PM
I read that as Newly sworn-in councilman Cecil Harvey :P
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: team filler on December 13, 2015, 02:06:08 PM
they must have ran out of internets
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Cerveza mas fina on December 13, 2015, 02:08:20 PM
Damn people
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: dkdk on December 13, 2015, 04:42:29 PM
lmao i live in NC my whole live and never hear of this bumfuck town.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: ToxicAdam on December 13, 2015, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Rufus on December 13, 2015, 08:11:28 AM
Retired science teacher. Yeah OK.

Hey, she made observations. Just like a good scientist is supposed to do.

Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: team filler on December 13, 2015, 09:07:57 PM
they sound like ken m
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: brawndolicious on December 13, 2015, 09:58:38 PM
I don't mind them rejecting because it'll cost them more than it's worth or will ruin their views or something. That's up to them. But this type of thing reminds me why it's good that GMO labeling bill didn't pass in California, people are too easily misinformed even when it comes to scientific facts.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Rufus on December 13, 2015, 11:43:01 PM
Quote from: ToxicAdam on December 13, 2015, 08:04:46 PM
Quote from: Rufus on December 13, 2015, 08:11:28 AM
Retired science teacher. Yeah OK.

Hey, she made observations. Just like a good scientist is supposed to do.
And went straight to modeling a reality where sunlight is captured like rain. :goty

Figuring out what science class encompasses led me to an effort to improve science education (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Generation_Science_Standards). :rejoice
spoiler (click to show/hide)
Next Gen SS. Pfehehe.... Sigh. :doge
[close]
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Madrun Badrun on December 14, 2015, 01:26:52 AM
Quote from: brawndolicious on December 13, 2015, 09:58:38 PM
I don't mind them rejecting because it'll cost them more than it's worth or will ruin their views or something. That's up to them. But this type of thing reminds me why it's good that GMO labeling bill didn't pass in California, people are too easily misinformed even when it comes to scientific facts.

the first reason is why this happened not the silly science reason.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: thisismyusername on December 14, 2015, 01:31:19 AM
Quote from: brawndolicious on December 13, 2015, 09:58:38 PM
I don't mind them rejecting because it'll cost them more than it's worth

Except if they're generating more power than they use, that'd be saving them money in the long run. Like... within a year or three the investment would be recouped provided their energy needs didn't explode.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Cerveza mas fina on December 14, 2015, 01:43:48 AM
Meanwhile in Denmark

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/04/opinions/sutter-samso-denmark-climate-change-two-degrees/
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: Great Rumbler on December 14, 2015, 01:45:09 AM
Quote from: thisismyusername on December 14, 2015, 01:31:19 AM
Quote from: brawndolicious on December 13, 2015, 09:58:38 PM
I don't mind them rejecting because it'll cost them more than it's worth

Except if they're generating more power than they use, that'd be saving them money in the long run. Like... within a year or three the investment would be recouped provided their energy needs didn't explode.

The town's not paying anything for this. A solar company wants to purchase a piece of land to build a solar farm on, but people freaked out and the town council blocked the company from being able to rezone the land.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: brawndolicious on December 14, 2015, 02:39:52 AM
Some environmental projects don't get pursued because of their costs and that's something that either through federal subsidies or regulation you need to encourage local communities to do. On the other hand, solar panels have been profitable over a decade AFAIK but I can understand if a community decides to make a coal power plant rather than solar because it costs less per gigawatt.

Quote from: TheInfelicitousDandy on December 14, 2015, 01:26:52 AM
Quote from: brawndolicious on December 13, 2015, 09:58:38 PM
I don't mind them rejecting because it'll cost them more than it's worth or will ruin their views or something. That's up to them. But this type of thing reminds me why it's good that GMO labeling bill didn't pass in California, people are too easily misinformed even when it comes to scientific facts.

the first reason is why this happened not the silly science reason.

The article makes it sound like people thought there would be a "sun drought" due to this though. That's really dumb if true and makes me think we need to have nonpartisan panels of experts deciding policy like this.
Title: Re: Small NC town rejects solar panel farm (or: Democracy was a mistake)
Post by: VomKriege on December 14, 2015, 07:13:50 AM
Do we really want to defer even more power to less accountable bodies ?

Whatever their reasons, that community is entitled a say in the matter. Not all arguments are loony either.