Summary:
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order freezing the disbursement of funds appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). That executive order, along with multiple others signed that day, signaled a distinct shift in U.S. energy policy away from supporting clean energy and clean vehicle manufacturing and renewable electricity generation in America in favor of traditional fossil fuels and other technologies.
That shift culminated with President Trump’s signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025, which included major rollbacks of federal clean energy programs that were driving one of the biggest manufacturing and energy transitions in American history.
This report details the far-reaching economic impacts of clean energy investments cancelled by the private sector since the federal government began its attempts to slow or halt the growth of clean energy beginning in January 2025.
It builds on previous research by E2 and BW Research, based on publicly available information, showing the economy-wide job creation impact from the investments supported by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). These investments totaled at least $130 billion over two years in 338 major clean energy and electric vehicle projects that were directly tied to IRA legislation. All told, these projects were expected to create and support 621,000 jobs—including nearly 154,000 permanent jobs—throughout the economy (https://e2.org/reports/clean-economy-works-economic-impact-report-2024/)
New modeling from BW Research measures the broad lost economic benefits caused by cancelled, closed, or downsized clean energy projects since January 1, 2025. While the legislation itself has been a major setback to the U.S. transition to a cleaner economy, the Trump administration’s broader hostility toward clean energy – including permitting bans on solar and wind developments; government payoffs of companies to stop offshore wind projects and gutting of federal clean energy programs – has compounded the negative economic consequences of the OBBBA.
BW’s modeling shows that since January 1, 2025, large-scale clean energy manufacturing and generation projects canceled in the wake of this shift in US energy policy have cost the future US economy:
- 468,000 jobs, including more than 343,000 permanent jobs and 125,000 construction jobs
- $55 billion in lost GDP growth annually from cancelled manufacturing plants and other operations, in addition to $91 billion lost from cancelled construction work.
- $12 billion foregone in annual tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments, in addition to nearly $20 billion in lost tax revenues just from construction activities.
- $31 billion in lost annual wages for permanent workers
When new clean energy generation projects and manufacturing facilities are cancelled, closed, or downsized and thousands of jobs are lost from a community, fewer people are active in the local economy. Local restaurants sell fewer meals. Schools, fire departments and local public works projects miss out on new local tax revenues. Local manufacturers and wholesalers produce and sell fewer goods in a diminished local supply chain. Small businesses such as accounting firms, construction contractors, landscaping companies and caterers lose business opportunities.
Together, these lost direct and indirect jobs and investments tell a nationwide story of stalled progress in domestic manufacturing, clean energy production, transportation, and infrastructure modernization. They also reflect the broader economic costs of the policy and market shift away from clean energy that began in 2025—slowing private-sector momentum, delaying projects, and leaving communities without the jobs, investment, and economic benefits those projects were expected to deliver.
Key Findings
The cancellation, closure, or downsizing of 216 major clean energy projects tracked by E2 from January 1, 2025 through May 2026 represent a significant reduction in planned private-sector investment and the economic activity those projects would have supported during their construction and operations phases.
The modeling estimates that these projects would have supported 468,000 jobs, including approximately 124,500 construction jobs annually during the construction period and 343,500 jobs annually during the operational years of the projects.
Clean energy project setbacks result in an estimated $90.8 billion less in GDP from the cancelled construction phases, and another $55.1 billion less GDP annually from cancelled, closed, or downsized operations. By comparison, that’s a bigger economic impact than the nation’s spectator sports industry.[1]
Additionally, the cancellation, closure, or downsizing of these projects will result in $19.6 billion less in tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments from cancelled construction activity, and $12.0 billion less in tax revenues annually from reduced operations.
COMBINED JOBS, WAGE, TAX AND GDP REDUCTIONS FROM MAJOR CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT CANCELLATIONS, DOWNSIZES, AND CLOSURES SINCE 2025
$68.2 BILLION reduction in total private capital investments during construction phase
+ $48.4 BILLION reduction in annual investments during the operational life of projects
$53.3 BILLION reduction in labor income during construction phase
+ $31.1 BILLION reduction in labor income annually during the operational life of projects
$90.8 BILLION reduction in U.S. GDP during construction phase
+ $55.1 BILLION reduction in U.S. GDP lost annually during the operational life of projects
$19.6 BILLION reduction in tax revenue lost during construction phase
+ $12.0 BILLION reduction in tax revenue lost annually during the operational life of projects
124,511 fewer jobs supported each year for 5 years during construction phase
+ 343,390 fewer jobs supported annually during the operational life of projects
[1] The Spectator Sports (NAICS 7112) industry’s GDP contribution is $54.8 billion. Data as of 2024, from JobsEQ.
Methodology
This analysis provides a thorough economic prediction of the impacts of the 216 project cancellation, closure, and downsizing announcements by filling in the gaps of publicly announced information. Modeled impacts differ from initial estimates offered by companies announcing canceled, closed, and downsized projects, tracked by E2. Eighteen of the 216 announcements provided no lost investment estimate and four provided no job loss estimate. Only lost capital investments for planned or under-construction projects were used as input into the construction phase model. Where lost operations jobs were available, they were used as input into the models. However, occasionally cancelled project job estimates can be inconsistently defined, lacking clarity on if they are direct jobs only or direct, indirect, and induced jobs, and if they were for construction or permanent positions.
For the latest full list of clean energy job announcements tracked by E2, visit https://e2.org/project-tracker.
About E2
E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org.