Fremont to require solar panels, EV chargers in new homes

By JOSEPH GEHA | jgeha@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group

The Fremont City Council on Tuesday required new housing developments to #InstallSolarPanels as well as wiring for #ElectricVehicleChargingStations to reduce energy consumption.

The council’s action attempts to place Fremont at the forefront of California’s goal of getting all #NewHomes built to a “zero net energy” level by 2020.

The size of the #SolarPanelSystem mandated for both single-family and multifamily housing built in the city will be determined by the size of the homes on a sliding scale, up to 4,499 square feet. Homes 4,500 square feet or larger will be measured differently, though still subject to the requirements.

The state buildings standards and energy commissions both need to sign off on solar panel rules before they can be implemented in the city. Rachel DiFranco, Fremont’s sustainability coordinator, said that could be at least a few months away.

The city in October also approved a code change that will require new residential and commercial developments with parking spaces to be “EV ready.” That means they must be equipped with conduit, wiring and any special circuitry needed for installation of #ElectricVehicleChargingStations.

As a result, DiFranco said a single-family home with a two-car garage would in most cases need a large specialized outlet and a dedicated circuit in the garage so a resident can plug in an electric vehicle charger.

For most new multifamily or commercial projects, the city is also requiring that 10 percent of the parking spaces come with a charging station installed.

DiFranco said having charging stations or EV ready infrastructure in place will make it convenient for people who live or work in Fremont to drive #ElectricVehicles.

“Right now, we have over 5,000 EV drivers in Fremont, and we’d really like to see that number continue to grow and multiply over the next handful of years,” she said.

The city also adopted codes in October that reduce the maximum allowable wattage of outdoor lighting fixtures in new commercial projects, to encourage builders to instead use light-emitting diode, or #LED, lighting systems, which are more #EnergyEfficient.

DiFranco said LED technology has become more affordable in recent years. The city recently has switched to LED for more than 14,000 streetlights.