Want to Install Solar?

Interesting in adding solar to your Fremont property?

To get started, visit Instant Solar Permits or Apply for a Permit.

Also, check out these local resources for incentives and other information.

• BayArea SunShares
• Resilient Home Program - Ava Community Energy
• Solar Discount Program - Ava Community Energy
• My Climate Ready Fremont - Solar Action

Advancing Solar in Fremont

The City of Fremont is proud to be recognized as a national leader in advancing solar energy. It has adopted many programs and practices that establish Fremont as a solar-friendly and environmentally sustainable community:

• Encourages the integration of renewable energy sources into new and existing buildings and infrastructure through the Conservation Element of the City's General Plan (2012). Examples include rooftop and onsite solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, solar water heating systems, and wind energy systems.
• Passage of a Renewable Energy Ordinance in 2012 that remains in effect—Chapter 18.185 of the Municipal Code—to implement policies of the General Plan. The ordinance provides specific use allowances and flexibility in permitting for solar and wind energy systems, as well as other emerging technologies.
• Reduction of residential solar permit fees and adoption of a residential solar streamlining ordinance that reduces turnaround times for small rooftop solar permits to three days maximum, allows for electronic permit applications, and requires only one inspection for permit authorization, efforts that align with the Governor's Office of Planning and Research California Solar Permitting Guidebook and AB 2188 - Solar Energy: Permits.
• Participation in the Department of Energy's American Solar Transformation Initiative (ASTI) to reduce transaction, administrative and construction costs related to residential and small commercial solar projects.
• Designation as a SolSmart Gold Designee with a "Special Award for Excellence in Permitting" and as the 1st place winner of the National League of Cities SolSmart Challenge.
• Passage of a Solar Preservation Ordinance in 2017 to preserve solar access for Fremont property owners.
• Implementation of Instant Solar Permits (ISPs) in 2023 with the help of SolarAPP+, an automated online portal for permitting new residential rooftop solar and storage systems. SolarAPP+ helps streamline the permitting process by instantly issuing an ISP for code-compliant systems.
• Designation as a SolSmart Platinum Designee in 2024 from the national SolSmart program, recognizing exceptional achievements in advancing solar energy use at the local level. Fremont becomes very first community in the country to earn this prestigious designation!

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Solar in Fremont

As the cost to install solar has continued to decline, the number of solar installations in Fremont has steadily grown. Since 2020, the number of solar permits obtained in Fremont has increased by 53%. (In 2020, the number of permits was 777; in 2021, the number was 1,010, and in 2022, the number was 1,188.) In 2022, the average number of days between when an applicant submitted a solar permit application and when their permit was issued was 19 days. By the end of 2023, Fremont had 9,801 residential sites and 161 commercial and industrial sites equipped with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, totaling 67 megawatts (MW) of power generating capacity plus 5.47 MW of storage.

The graph below shows Fremont’s cumulative installed solar and battery storage capacity over the past two decades.