To the dismay of the solar and renewable energy industries, President Donald Trump's (R) first budget proposal imposes many of the draconian cuts he promised putting millions of jobs at risk this morning (May 23). Clean energy industry organizations explained their disdain and what they plan to do to help maintain momentum in their industries.

Six states now get 20 percent or more of their electric generation from renewable energy, not including utility-scale hydro generation. Three now get 30 percent or more from renewables—and they’re not the ones most would expect. The leaders are Iowa, South Dakota, and Kansas, each of which now generate 30 percent or more of their electric generation from wind power. 

Utilities are continuing to ramp up solar power and renewable energy, and some are starting to reduce the costs of solar power. Meanwhile the news in solar power last week also found that the residential solar industry in the US saw a big drop in the first quarter. 

The cost to participate in Pacific Gas and Electric’s Solar Choice program is falling—thanks to the utility’s continued investment in solar power. The program allows its customers to source up to 100 percent of their electricity from solar power, without putting it on their home of business.

Under a new three-year contract with Envision, New York City is adding in new at least 30 solar-powered EV ARC electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The agreement is helping the city achieve Mayor de Blasio's NYC Clean Fleet initiative, allowing vehicles charged by the systems to be 100 percent emissions free.

Vivint Solar’s customers might soon have one the most coveted symbols in their garages or on their homes. Under a new partnership with Mercedes-Benz Energy, Vivint Solar solar will be the first company in the US to offer Mercedes-Benz customizable home energy storage systems.

Using what they call ‘dynamic norm feedback’ to show how others are saving energy Greenely and Stanford University are launching Greenely Go in California, a mobile app to help PG&E customers reduce their energy use. The app, which is free to PG&E customers, uses a behavioral algorithm to reduce energy usage in the state.

Ahead of the latest Q2 2017 U.S. Solar Market Insight from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association, GTM Research said it has observed a steep slow down—17 percent—in the amount of new homes going solar. The research firm attributed much of the slowdown to California, where the amount of newly installed residential solar fell 22 percent between the fourth quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017.

With new and potential changes to utility rates and structures in California, the savings generated by rooftop solar power could fall by as much as 50 percent for those in multifamily affordable housing. However, a new study from Clean Energy Group showed that solar+storage could restore and increase—by up to eight times—the savings to those in multifamily affordable housing with solar power in the state. 

Last week news that SolarWorld AG, the parent company of SolarWorld Americas, filed for bankruptcy. However, the US subsidiary, based in Hillsboro, OR, is operating as usual. The company said it is maintaining full operations act the facility.