Last month, four of the nation’s leading renewable energy organizations issued a letter calling for Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry to make his review of the US energy market open and informed. Now they are expressing their disappointment that thus far they have not heard back from Perry’s office and remain concerned that the study could be based on a false premise. 

Earlier this month the Florida legislature passed legislation that will implement Amendment 4, a solar-friendly amendment that was supported by 73 percent of voters in the state. With the unanimous passage of SB 90, the bill now moves to Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) desk for approval. 

Even as Tesla announced pricing for its Solar Roof, SolarWorld announced its insolvency. It was that type of week for the solar industry, mostly good news, but mixed with some bad news. For instance, solar power topped two new lists and most states showed strong progress on solar, but at least one—Indiana—moved backwards on solar power. 

SolarWorld, an international solar panel manufacturer headquartered in Germany and with a manufacturing facility in Oregon filed for insolvency in Bonn, Germany this week. It’s the latest solar manufacturer to fall with the news coming shortly after the announcement that Suniva filed for bankruptcy in the US. 

By the end of 2016 the US had 21.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power online. It’s an impressive capstone for an industry that’s grown at an average rate of 72 percent annually between 2010 and 2016—faster than any other generating source in the US. 

A new study out from SmartAsset found that the fastest-growing job in the US is photovoltaic installer. The report, which used Bureau of Labor Statistics data, found that the overall unemployment rate was 4.5 percent as of March 2017 and that many of the positions that are leading job growth in the country are positions that have not traditionally been available—like solar installer. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk introduced its solar roof last October and had dropped teasers about it ever since, promising that the cost of the nearly invisible solar roof tiles would be less than that of a traditional roof. Now Tesla has unveiled the cost of the highly anticipated devices, which it says is less than the cost of a new roof for a home and are is now taking orders for them. 

Energy storage is the next solar power—in terms of a new revolution for the energy sector. The newly launched Congressional Advanced Energy Storage Caucus initiated by U.S. Reps. Chris Collins (R-NY) and Mark Takano (D-CA) and utility and energy storage company executives, is aimed at helping Congress understand how energy storage systems are helping US businesses and homeowners access reliable, affordable and sustainable electric power. 

On Monday (May 8) Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed 11 clean energy bills into law, supporting the growth of solar power, energy storage and clean energy. The new laws enjoyed bipartisan support and also will improve energy efficiency in the state. 

The Solar Foundation announced that 22 communities were recently designated as SolSmart communities, with nine of them achieving SolSmart Gold, the highest designation. It’s been just over a year since The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) launched SolSmart and now 58 communities have achieved status as a SolSmart community, meaning they have made it easier for people in their community to go solar.