The E2 & 1 Hotels the fellowship program is designed to help early career environmentally-minded entrepreneurs and community leaders to create and implement unique projects at the intersection of the economy and environment. This year’s projects span a wide array of timely topics, including urban solar, community microgrids, K-12 career development, data centers, and AI.
Why the EPA’s Repeal of the Endangerment Finding for Vehicles and Trucks is Bad for the Economy and Bad for the Environment By Daniel Baker To start, a couple of key facts. Greenhouse gases (GHG) are directly linked to climate change. A warmer planet is really, really bad for business. That makes the EPA’s decision to officially reverse its stance on the scientifically established harms […]
The EPA officially revoked the endangerment finding for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and eliminated clean vehicle standards in a blow to both our economy and our environment.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expected to announce the Administration’s intent to weaken federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for vehicles. Such a dramatic shift in policy would halt five decades of progress toward U.S. cars that are cheaper and cleaner to run.
Based on E2 research conducted in partnership with the Atlas Public Policy research group, The Detroit News examines the state of EV and battery investment since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed, through the initial impact of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
SPRINGFIELD (Oct. 31, 2025) – As of last night, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly passed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability (CRGA) Act, a major milestone for clean energy. The bill now awaits the signature of Governor JB Pritzker, a supporter of the legislation. The energy omnibus is expected to deliver billions of […]
WASHINGTON (Oct. 30, 2025) – TIME named Bob Keefe, executive director for the national nonpartisan business group E2, to the 2025 TIME100 Climate list, recognizing the 100 most innovative leaders driving business climate action. For the third year in a row, TIME editors vetted people who delivered measurable progress with respect to the business of climate change, emphasizing tangible results over commitments. In choosing Keefe, the magazine recognized his leadership of an […]
The U.S. is currently home 3.46 million Americans who work across the clean vehicle, renewable energy, energy efficiency, battery storage, grid modernization, and biofuel sectors, according to the latest annual employment analysis from BW Research and E2. And in just the first two years of the IRA, businesses announced $130 billion to fund nearly 340 major clean energy and clean vehicle projects that are expected to hire at least 110,000 new, mostly permanent, workers, according to analysis by E2.
The economic benefits from these projects reach well beyond the direct investments and jobs, however. According to separate modeling by BW Research, the projects announced in the first two years of the IRA will create 621,000 direct and indirect new jobs – including 154,000 permanent jobs – over the next five years. Just during the construction phase alone, these new projects would directly and indirectly add $237.5 billion to U.S. GDP; create $169.4 billion in new wages for workers, and generate nearly $50 billion in new tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments.
To gauge business sentiment on how repealing or rolling back the IRA would impact business investment, hiring, and expansion plans, BW Research focused its outreach on firms working with the following technologies: energy efficiency of buildings, renewable electricity generation, energy storage, grid, renewable fuels, and electric or alternative transportation. The survey captured impacts not just on new businesses or projects since the laws were signed but on long-established companies, with more than 60 percent of the surveyed firms saying they have been in business in the clean energy space for more than ten years.
The executive interviews conducted in parallel with the survey helped reveal other common themes that business owners and decision-makers have seen since the passage of the IRA, as well as key issues for them as they contemplate their businesses’ future. The stakeholder engagement process involved energy businesses in different technologies and regions of the country.
Lastly, the repeal or rollback of the IRA would have impacts that extend far beyond hiring, investment, and expansion plans. In addition to the benefits to businesses created by the IRA, the policy has sent a clear market signal for companies to invest, innovate, and expand in America.
If the policy is repealed, some executives surveyed said they would have to relocate their companies to another country. Others said they would go out of business entirely. Rural areas and small communities across America would be hurt the worst, since rural areas have seen the biggest uptick in clean energy projects, investments and jobs since the IRA.
Other Key Findings
(based on survey results and stakeholder interviews)
The national survey of nearly 930 business stakeholders was conducted in August 2024, concurrent with the second anniversary of the IRA. It was complemented by interviews with key executives involved in clean energy development, construction, and manufacturing. The survey sought to capture business sentiment about the direct impacts of the IRA, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, as well as state energy policies, on clean energy businesses’ hiring practices, revenue, and decision-making. A larger focus was placed on the impacts of the IRA as opposed to other federal policies due to the IRA’s broad impact on the clean energy and clean vehicles industries.
For full toplines and questions from the employer survey, see Appendix A in the full report.
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. E2 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 additional insight into E2’s other reports, visit e2.org/reports.
In the first two years under the IRA, businesses announced $130 billion in investments in 338 major clean energy and clean vehicle projects that are expected to create at least 110,000 jobs, according to E2. These projects include factories that produce electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, wind turbine parts and other goods that benefit from tax credits and other policies created by the IRA.
But the economic benefits from these projects reach well beyond the direct investments and jobs. This analysis is designed to measure the broader indirect and induced economic benefits and the multiplier effect from the investments in these IRA-fueled clean economy projects.
According to this modeling, if completed the projects announced in the first two years of the IRA will create 621,000 direct and indirect new jobs – including 154,000 permanent jobs— throughout the economy over the next five years. This would add $237.5 billion to U.S. GDP; create $169.4 billion in new wages for workers and generate nearly $50 billion in new tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments.
This report builds on the research published in 2023 by E2 and BW Research, detailing the overall economic impacts of the 210 major clean economy projects announced in the first year of the IRA. In the second year of the IRA, an additional 128 clean energy projects were announced.
This analysis uses the original $130 billion in estimated capital expenditures that companies announced in investments for new developments and extrapolates another $32 billion in additional capital expenditures for project announcements that did not include a dollar amount or required an updated estimate based on available information.
Secondary economic benefits extend throughout the economy. When new clean energy projects and clean vehicle factories and thousands of new jobs come to a community, local restaurants sell more meals. Schools, police departments and local public works projects benefit from increases in local tax revenues. Local manufacturers and wholesalers sell more goods to feed the growing local supply chain. And small businesses such as accounting firms, construction contractors, landscaping companies and caterers see new revenue streams.
Together, these direct and indirect jobs and investments tell a nationwide story of opportunity for domestic manufacturing, clean energy production, transportation and infrastructure modernization and American ingenuity, thanks to the clean energy incentives and investments made possible by the IRA.
They are also just the beginning as E2 continues to track new projects being announced every month.
E2 Clean Economy Works project tracking. Available at https://e2.org/announcements/.
This modeling shows that (if all projects are completed) the 338 major projects tracked by E2 between August 2022 to August 2024 will create or support more than 621,000 jobs, including 467,000 construction jobs each year during construction and another 154,000 jobs each year after that.
While the under construction, these projects will add $237.5 billion to the nation’s GDP, more than the U.S. telecommunications sector adds to GDP annually, and another $20.4 annually once they are up and running—more than the nation’s textile manufacturing industry.
Additionally, these projects will result in $49.8 billion in new tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments while under construction, and an additional $4.4 billion annually after that.
| Sector | Total Construction Phase Jobs (Annual jobs for 5 years) | Annual Operations Phase Jobs (Annual jobs for lifetime of projects) | Sector | Announced Capital Investment ($billions) | Extrapolated Capital Investment ($billions) | Total Capital Investment ($billions) | Annual Operational Investment ($billions) | |
| Solar | 66,736 | 21,882 | Solar | $15.94 | $6.93 | $22.87 | $2.47 | |
| Wind | 13,447 | 14,871 | Wind | $3.97 | $1.38 | $5.35 | $1.66 | |
| EV | 266,673 | 78,276 | EV | $79.22 | $9.22 | $88.44 | $8.84 | |
| Electric T&D | 6,626 | 2,502 | Electric T&D | $1.82 | $0.51 | $2.33 | $0.33 | |
| Battery Storage | 84,470 | 22,798 | Battery Storage | $23.27 | $6.87 | $30.14 | $3.17 | |
| Clean Fuels | 29,093 | 13,639 | Clean Fuels | $6.06 | $6.85 | $12.90 | $1.07 | |
| Total | 467,045 | 153,969 | Total Capital Investment | $130.27 | $31.77 | $162.04 | $17.54 |
This analysis provides a thorough economic prediction of the impacts of the 338 announcements by filling in the gaps of publicly announced information. Modeled impacts differ from initial estimates offered by companies announcing new projects, tracked by E2. Eighty-eight of the 338 announcements provided no capital investment estimate and ninety-four provided no job creation estimate. Additionally, those estimates were 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.
To analyze these economic impacts from the clean energy programs and policies in the IRA, BW Research used IMPLAN economic modeling software to estimate the overall economic benefits from publicly sourced clean energy project announcements. BW Research developed a dozen economic impact models in total to represent six tracked sectors: Solar, Wind, Electric Vehicle (EV), Electricity Transmission & Distribution (Electric T&D), Battery Storage, and Clean Fuels. Based on this common methodology and assumptions, BW generated outputs at the national level, including earnings, tax revenue, employment and overall GDP value add.
For more information on methodology, see Appendix C in the report. For the list of all 338 projects announced between August 15, 2022 and August 16, 2024, see Appendix D.
For the latest full list of clean energy job announcements tracked by E2, visit https://e2.org/announcements.
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. E2 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 additional insight into E2’s other reports, visit e2.org/reports.