Lynn homeowner seeing downside of solar power

LYNN – Michael Manoco thought putting solar panels on his ranch house would be a good idea until it wasn’t.”They came to me,” said the Betty Terrace resident. “They noticed that I lived on a corner lot with no trees ? and they asked me ?would you like free solar panels?'”Manoco wasn’t completely sold on the plan but he agreed when he learned his home met certain government requirements and would be guaranteed a 30 percent savings on his electric bill, he said. In August a crew showed up and got to work on the project, which did not go as planned, Manoco said.”My roof is low, only about 11 feet off the ground, so we’re sitting in the backyard watching,” Manoco said.He said he became concerned when it appeared that workers were drilling 50 or more holes in his two-year-old roof. Once the solar panels were installed a Vivint Solar inspector looked at the project and reported that not only did it fail inspection due to significant damage but that he wanted the panels removed so they could see the extent of the damage, Manoco said. Adding to his woes, a city inspector also deemed the roof unsafe and after Monday’s snow/rain storm, it began to leak, he added.Once the panels were off, Manoco said he tussled with the company over who would pay for the damage because Vivint only wanted to foot the bill to replace half the roof.”No contractor is going to do half a roof job,” he said. “I was going to have to replace the whole roof but they only wanted to pay for half. Mass law states they have to make me whole.”A spokesman for Vivint said Tuesday the company has since agreed to replace the entire roof but Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi said there is still an issue. According to the City Clerk’s office Vivint sales personnel were soliciting without a permit.A representative applied to the city for a door-to-door sales permit in July 2012 but according to a memo signed by City Clerk Mary Audley, it was denied when no one showed up for the hearing.Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi said it’s important that the council knows who is soliciting and who is doing it without a permit.”We approved a couple of these kinds of companies,” he said. “If they’re not doing something right we need to know so when they do come before us, we have the information.”Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said by and large Vivint Solar appears to be doing things right. He said the company has pulled close to 70 permits for solar panel installations and 69 went in with no complaints. Inspectors did check out Manoco’s roof where Donovan said, “(Vivint) did do some damage but they took responsibility.”Manoco said he was mostly concerned that what happened to him would happen to someone else.”If you don’t live in a ranch-style home ? you live in a two story, you’d never know what was going on up there,” he said. “I knew something wasn’t right and it wasn’t.”