Trump’s War on Clean Energy Puts Thousands of Pennsylvania Jobs and Over $1 Billion in Investments at Risk

Pennsylvania — In just 100 days in office, President Trump’s tariffs, executive orders, and all-out assault on clean energy have put Pennsylvania’s clean energy economy at risk. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, Pennsylvania has gained 4,962 new clean energy jobs and $1.34 billion in new private clean energy investments. Now, those jobs and these investments are under threat.

New data released today from Climate Power shows that 95 clean energy projects have been threatened, delayed, or canceled nationally since Trump took office, representing $71.24 billion in investment and 62,554 jobs. In Pennsylvania, Mack Trucks announced layoffs amounting to between 250 and 350 workers at their Macungie plant, citing economic uncertainty due to Trump’s tariffs. Last year, Mack received a grant from the Department of Energy for electric-vehicle manufacturing upgrades. 

“Trump’s war on clean energy and his chaotic tariff policy has already caused a hemorrhaging of manufacturing jobs in sectors that have been booming for two years,” said Lori Lodes, Executive Director of Climate Power. “Repealing clean energy investments would jeopardize hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs on its own. On top of this crisis of uncertainty, repeal would devastate American manufacturing — halting construction, sending jobs overseas, hiking energy costs, and forfeiting the future to China and our other competitors.”

In addition to creating new jobs, clean energy saves Pennsylvanians money: the transition to clean energy will reduce U.S. electricity prices by between 20 and 80% by 2040. Trump’s proposed tariffs, on the other hand, will cost Pennsylvanians money: studies show that households will suffer a loss of $3,800 on average, while utility companies will likely raise rates for customers. 

Prior to Trump’s election, the United States was experiencing the largest boom in factory construction investment in American history, spurred in large part by the clean energy tax credits. However, since the beginning of the Trump Administration, that growth has begun to reverse. If the Trump Administration succeeds in repealing the clean energy tax credits, it would be a disaster for American energy independence and could lead to thousands of lost jobs in Pennsylvania.

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