The Natron Energy battery plant in Holland, Michigan, which was shuttered in September. Business Wire
This year saw U.S. clean tech companies abandon dozens of manufacturing projects as the Trump administration slashed support for renewable energy.
An analysis from Wellesley College found a steep drop in investment in new manufacturing projects since President Trump took office, as well as $37 billion of “slowed” investment from projects that were paused, canceled, or closed.
Analysts say companies and investors are balking at the gutting of federal loans, grants, and tax incentives, weaker emissions standards, and higher tariffs. Reportedly, investors were already backing away from clean energy in late 2024 over the cloudy future of energy policy under Trump.
"Slowed" investment reflects investment in projects that were paused, canceled, or closed. Data through the first 11 months of this year. Source: Wellesley College. Yale Environment 360
Through November, clean tech firms had abandoned at least 51 large projects, almost all of them manufacturing projects, according to E2, a group promoting clean energy. That is up from 14 canceled projects in all of 2024 and just nine in 2023.
The losses have been felt most acutely in Republican strongholds. Project cancellations have cost the U.S. more than 29,000 jobs, according to E2, but almost 22,000 of those jobs would have been in Republican districts.
Large clean tech projects. Data through the first 11 months of this year. Source: E2 Yale Environment 360
“Even as companies continue to announce new facilities and jobs, the scale of cancellations shows how fragile this moment is for America’s clean energy economy,” said Michael Timberlake, of E2. “Without clear and durable policy signals, manufacturers will keep pulling back, and communities will continue to lose out on investments and jobs that are now going overseas instead of taking root here in the U.S.”
An analysis from BloombergNEF earlier this year found that rising clean tech investment in the E.U. suggested that companies are “reallocating capital out of the U.S. and into Europe.”
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