Report: U.S. Clean Energy Manufacturing Losses Continue Following Federal Rollbacks

Environmental Defense Fund and Atlas Public Policy today released a new report, The State of Clean Energy Manufacturing in Q1 2026, showing clean energy manufacturing cancellations and job losses continued in the first quarter of 2026 following federal rollbacks targeting clean energy incentives. More than 8,000 jobs were lost to cancellations and cutbacks in Q1 alone. Overall, the sector saw a net loss of roughly 5,600 jobs after accounting for new announcements.

The report finds the U.S. lost a net 5,600 clean energy manufacturing jobs in Q1 2026 alongside $1.4 billion in canceled investments. Companies announced $2.5 billion in new investments across 21 projects in 14 states, but cancellations and cutbacks reduced net investment to $1.1 billion.

The losses follow a sharp downturn that began in 2025 as federal policy shifts, regulatory uncertainty and the expected repeal of key clean energy and electric vehicle tax credits rattled investor confidence after years of record private-sector investments from 2021 through 2024.

“Clean energy manufacturing investment is slowing as cancellations and job losses continue to mount,” said Ellen Robo, EDF’s Senior Manager of Clean Air Policy and Analytics. “The data shows growing uncertainty across the sector, especially for electric vehicles and batteries, which continue to see the largest share of canceled investments.”

Key findings from Q1 2026 include:

• $1.4 billion in canceled clean manufacturing investment
• $2.5 billion in newly announced investments
• Net investment of $1.1 billion after cancellations and cutbacks
• A net loss of 5,600 manufacturing jobs
• Electric vehicles accounted for the largest share of canceled investment, with 15 percent of announced EV investments canceled

The report also finds clean energy manufacturing investment remains concentrated in a small number of states, with Georgia, Michigan, and North Carolina leading the nation in total announced investment and jobs. Despite continued losses in the EV and battery sectors, companies continued investing in transmission equipment, grid technologies and solar manufacturing during the first quarter.

The analysis tracks publicly announced investments, cancellations, and manufacturing jobs across the clean energy sector using data from Atlas Public Policy’s Clean Economy Tracker. Additional reports and analysis from the clean energy manufacturing series are available at edf.org/us-clean-energy-manufacturing.

Read the full report: The State of Clean Energy Manufacturing in Q1 2026