Last week, Tesla Gigafactory 1 (GF1), where it will produce batteries for its vehicles and home and commercial energy storage Powerwall and Powerpack units, began production. Now it’s come to light that the giant factory also will produce no carbon emissions and host the world’s largest rooftop solar installation—by far—with 70 megawatts of solar panels producing the energy needed to produce Tesla’s battery systems. 

There’s a clear connection between clean energy and where employers want to be. At least if you take into account the opinions of some of the leading and growing employment sectors in the US—retail and information technology.

After eight months without a President the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has named  Abigail Ross Hopper to lead the organization starting on Jan. 17. She takes over after the years of unprecedented growth in the industry with the country on track to install 50 gigawatts of solar power in 2016.

The first week of the year means the prognosticators are prognosticating and with a new Administration about to take over the White House many are worried that President-Elect Donald Trump (R) could cut use of renewables. Meanwhile, Tesla’s first Gigafactory is now producing batteries, fulfilling a promise Elon Musk had made about reaching production milestones.

The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is looking into 2017 and calling for the grid to continue evolving to meet the energy needs of people in the 21st century while protecting the environment. The advocacy organization called for market reforms to make it easier to incorporate more renewable energy and fully account for the value of renewable energy. 

Maryland has been late to the game in terms of solar power. It’s southern neighbor, Virginia, also was late to the game in terms of solar as well, but recently the state has been signing up some of the largest solar projects in the mid-Atlantic states. Now it looks like Maryland may start catching up. 

Many are worried that President-Elect Donald Trump could gut the renewable energy industries and the progress the industries have made in the past decade. But at least one sustainability director posits the idea that Trump’s interest in deregulating the energy sector could actually grow the solar market by $70 billion. 

Yesterday (Jan. 4) Tesla announced that its Gigafactory in Sparks, NV, began producing its new “2170 cell”, the battery cell that it will use in a variety of products from the Model 3 car to the Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy storage systems for homes. Now that the company is producing cells at the new factory, it said its cost for batteries will come down significantly. 

File this in fascinating and amazing potential uses of solar power. Swiss researchers are proposing that subcutaneous (under the skin) solar cells could continuously recharge implanted, life-saving electronic medical devices like a pacemaker or deep-brain stimulator. 

Yesterday (Jan. 3) Raymond James issued its Clean Tech Primer 2017: A Holistic Update on the Ten Major Verticals, a report on investing in the renewable energy and related sectors. The news is, well, as complicated as the technologies covered in the report.