Clean energy and transportation project cancellations continue as 2025 rolls on, with analysis of public announcements showing investments of $4.5 billion abandoned in April alone.
Business advocacy group E2 on May 29 blamed uncertainties about finances and policy under the new Republican leadership in Washington. It tallied the impact so far this year at $14 billion in investments and 10,000 potential new jobs.
The two manufacturing and two generation projects that E2 counted as canceled in April far eclipsed the seven newly announced manufacturing projects announced in April, which carried a combined investment of only about $500 million. But the disparity was not as wide as it seems: The largest announcement — by the electric vehicle startup Slate — did not carry a price tag.
E2 Communications Director Michael Timberlake said in the news release that pending policy changes may add to the reductions.
“Now is not the time to raise taxes on clean energy and compound the business uncertainty that is clearly taking a greater and greater toll on U.S. manufacturing and jobs,” he said. “If the tax plan passed by the House last week becomes law, expect to see construction and investments stopping in states across the country as more projects and jobs are canceled.”
E2 and the Clean Economy Tracker have been following public announcements of job-creating green projects since passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. They have tallied 390 major proposals across 42 states and Puerto Rico that carry planned investment of $132 billion and the hiring of 123,000 permanent workers.
From January 2023 through April 2025, 45 projects have been canceled, closed or downsized, accounting for commitments of $16.7 billion in investments and nearly 20,000 jobs.
Twenty-seven of the 45 announcements came after the election in November 2024 of President Donald Trump, who had pledged a strong reversal of President Joe Biden’s support for clean energy and clean transportation. The Trump administration’s rapid-fire policy changes have complicated efforts, and the current version of the budget bill would provide further costs and hindrance.
E2 noted the irony contained within the geography for the proposed and canceled investments: More than 61% of all clean energy/transportation announcements have been in Republican congressional districts, and they account for 72% of planned job creation and 82% of planned spending. More than $12 billion of the $16.7 billion in canceled investments were to have been made in Republican districts.
