E2’s “Clean Jobs America 2026” Report Finds Nearly 37,000 US Clean Energy Jobs Lost in 2025
E2’s “Clean Jobs America 2026” report found the US clean energy sector lost 36,949 jobs in 2025, its first annual decline since the pandemic.
Photo by Trinh Trần on Pexels
The US clean energy sector lost 36,949 jobs in 2025, according to initial findings from the “Clean Jobs America 2026” report published by E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) on September 22, 2026. The clean energy jobs report 2025 findings mark the sector’s first annual employment decline since the Covid-19 pandemic, erasing roughly 40% of the jobs gained in 2024. E2 based its analysis on US Department of Energy data from the 2026 US Energy and Employment Report, which itself draws on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
E2 attributes the losses to the “ending and rolling back [of] federal support for clean energy and electric vehicles beginning in January 2025” by the Trump administration and Congress. The group also tracked 142 clean energy projects canceled or downsized during the period, representing $57.8 billion in planned investment and an estimated 84,400 jobs that would otherwise have been created.
Where the clean energy jobs report 2025 losses concentrated
Employment fell in 35 states. Losses were sharpest in energy efficiency, which shed 21,443 jobs, followed by renewable generation at negative 11,584 jobs and clean vehicles at negative 9,619 jobs. Two subsectors bucked the trend: storage and grid modernization added 5,346 jobs, and biofuels added 350. California recorded the largest state-level loss, down 20,655 jobs, a 3.7% decline; Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan followed with smaller percentage losses. Florida gained the most jobs of any state, up 3,801 (2.1%), while New Mexico posted the fastest growth rate at 5.4%.
| Category | Change in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Energy efficiency | -21,443 jobs |
| Renewable generation | -11,584 jobs |
| Clean vehicles | -9,619 jobs |
| Storage and grid modernization | +5,346 jobs |
| Biofuels | +350 jobs |
| Net US clean energy employment | -36,949 jobs |
Source: E2, “Clean Jobs America 2026” (initial findings memo), September 22, 2026, based on the 2026 US Energy and Employment Report.
Policy context
E2’s report follows a year in which federal clean energy incentives were scaled back, a shift Winss Solutions has covered in earlier reporting on the damaging impact of US tariffs on sustainability. The 142 canceled or downsized projects that E2 identified span manufacturing, renewable generation and vehicle-related investment, and the group says the $57.8 billion in affected planned investment would have supported roughly 84,400 additional jobs had those projects proceeded as planned. E2 did not name specific canceled projects in the initial findings memo reviewed for this article.
Background
E2, or Environmental Entrepreneurs, is a national nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors and professionals that advocates for policies benefiting both the economy and the environment, publishing an annual “Clean Jobs America” report tracking US clean energy employment trends. Its analyses draw on federal labor and energy data, most recently the Department of Energy’s US Energy and Employment Report series, to provide state-by-state and sector-by-sector employment figures. The 2025 decline documented in this year’s initial findings reverses several years of clean energy job growth that E2 had tracked through 2024, and the group says it will publish the full “Clean Jobs America 2026” report with additional detail later in the year.
Sources: E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs); Mercom India; pv magazine USA
Featured image: photo by Trinh Trần on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
