Fremont City Council made a progressive move toward environmental preservation on May 2, requiring new housing developments to install solar panels and wiring for electric vehicle charging stations moving forward. These advances place Fremont near the front of the pack in California’s push for all new homes to be built at “zero net energy” by 2020.

Zero net energy means homes put out as much energy as they consume, by the way of solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and electric cars. Tesla has its factory in Fremont and, as Teslarati points out, there is “no better place to push for this movement than in Tesla’s own backyard where the electric car company and energy storage provider is set to debut, what many are anticipating to be, the beginning of a global change in transportation — Model 3.”

The size of the solar panels will be determined by the size of homes on a sliding scale, for both single-family and multi-housing units, up to 4,499 square feet. Homes larger than that size will still be subject to requirements, but measured differently.

As mentioned by East Bay Times, state building standards and energy commissions both need to officiate the new solar panel requirements before being implemented in the city. Rachel DiFranco, Fremont’s sustainability coordinator, tells the Times that she believes that could be “at least a few months away.”

DiFranco also confirmed that commercial and residential developments will be “EV ready,” meaning they will be provisioned with whatever conduit, wiring, and special circuitry are required for installation of electric charging stations.

No doubt Tesla is supportive of both advances: It acquired solar energy company SolarCity last year and has already begun selling the company’s slim low-profile solar panel. In a couple of months they will begin production on their “revolutionary glass Solar Roof tile.” Looks like they’ll have the perfect clientele right in their own backyard.