More than €3 billion of planned clean energy manufacturing projects in the United States were cancelled during the month of October, part of a broader pattern of reduced investment during 2025, the Environmental Defense Fund and Atlas Public Policy have said.
According to the groups, the cancelled projects contributed to a net loss of more than €12 billion in planned investment this year, and a reduction of more than 7,000 anticipated jobs across multiple US states.
‘Reduced competitiveness’
“These cancelled clean energy manufacturing projects will cause financial hardships for communities across the country, many of which saw investment for the first time in a generation,” commented Ellen Robo, senior manager for clean air policy and analytics at Environmental Defense Fund.
“Turning away from clean, affordable, made-in-America technologies will mean our country has fewer manufacturing jobs, dirtier and more expensive energy systems, and reduced competitiveness. Our economy and our planet cannot afford for us to make this mistake.”
While the US clean energy manufacturing sector saw ‘historic growth’ between 2021 and 2024, with around $220 billion worth of investment, the market has plummeted this year in the face of hostile policies from the Trump administration, the groups said.
Policy shifts and funding cuts by the current administration have led to cancellations of around $25 billion worth of that investment this year, with six of the last ten months seeing negative overall investment, meaning that new investments were outperformed by cancellations.
Most-affected states
Illinois ($4.8 billion), Georgia ($4.5 billion), and North Carolina ($4.2 billion) are the US states most affected by the cancellation of clean energy manufacturing projects, the groups said.
On a sector-by-sector basis, the percentage of cancellations to new investments was highest in the batteries (14%) and EV (13%) sectors, followed by wind energy (9%), solar (4%), and transmission and grid investment (3%). Read more here.
