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The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) SunShot has announced a new US$30 million for solar integration projects, as the initiative is in hot water after president Trump indicated plans for its closure.

President Trump’s administration would be “shooting itself in the foot” if it closed the US department of energy’s Sunshot Initiative, according to the programme’s former director Minh Le.

Former Texas governor Rick Perry, secretary of energy nominee to head the very department he suggested should be scrapped, said in his Senate confirmation hearing yesterday that he regretted making that recommendation.

The US and Israel have announced a US$4 million fund for five clean energy projects, including solar PV and CSP, as part of the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) programme.

This week's Movers & Shakers features some of the US' biggest integrated solar companies, including Vivint Solar, First Solar and Sungevity. PV Tech also reports on management shuffles in Australia and speaks with new SunShot Initiative director Charlie Gay on what is driving US solar's success.

On Friday, in Arlington, Arizona, the Department of Navy (DON), Department of Energy (DOE), and developer Sempra Energy were joined by the White House Office of Federal Sustainability for the inauguration of a 210MW solar facility that facility represents the federal government’s larges investment in clean energy history.

A report published under the US Department of Energy’s Path to SunShot series by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reveals how solar power could deliver US$400 billion in environmental and public health benefits throughout the US by 2050.

The US Department of Energy has announced that five additional military bases will be included under SunShot Initiative’s Solar Ready Vets programme, which connects skilled veterans to careers in the solar energy industry through an intensive, hands-on training course. DOE is also awarding US$10 million under the Solar Training and Education for Professionals (STEP) funding programme.

‘Solar Ready Vets’ is the US Department of Energy’s answer to the urgent demand in solar for highly-trained workers; pairing skilled military veterans with civilian job training in an industry eager to recruit. PV Tech spoke with graduate Logan Rozanski.

The US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative has launched the Orange Button programme that will establish unified datasets in an effort to reduce financing costs.