A new report released today by ReImagine Appalachia found that 67% of the 92282 expected clean energy jobs (over 61000 positions) in the region are now at risk due to policy changes under the Trump administration. Tracking Appalachian Impact: What's in Danger When Federal Funds Stagnation "documents how clean energy investments in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky stagnated after historic growth.

This analysis tracks quarterly data from 2018 to the third quarter of 2025, examining federal and private investments in three categories: energy and industrial deployment, clean energy manufacturing, and retail purchases of greenhouse gas reduction technologies. According to the report, clean energy investment tripled between 2021 and 2024, reaching a peak of $4.7 billion in the third quarter of 2024, but has now stagnated, with energy and industrial spending plummeting from $1.27 billion in the third quarter of 2024 to $445 million in the third quarter of 2025.

The report also covers how the Trump administration's funding changes affect local projects.

The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Employment Act have brought unprecedented investment and employment opportunities to our local communities, "said Diana Polson, co-author of the report. We have recorded $9.85 billion in investments in energy and industry, $18.8 billion in clean energy manufacturing investments, and $22.3 billion in retail clean technology purchases since 2022. These are changing our communities and creating high paying jobs that do not require a college degree. Now, we see these opportunities gradually disappearing as federal funding stagnates

Analysis predicts that the One Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) will raise residential energy prices, disrupt job creation, and hand over America's leadership in clean energy and manufacturing to foreign competitors, with Appalachian communities bearing the majority of these impacts.

The data tells a grim story. The clean energy manufacturing industry started from almost zero in 2018 and has grown to large-scale investment by 2023, with 72% dedicated to battery manufacturing and 19% dedicated to zero emission vehicles, "said Rike Rothenstein, co-author of the report. But this momentum has stopped. When President Trump takes office for the second time, federal clean energy investment is significantly reduced, and the proposed Beauty Act may completely cancel the remaining plans. From the canceled furnace upgrade at Cleveland Cliffs Steel Plant in Middleton, Ohio, to the stalled solar project on former coal mine land in Nicholas County, West Virginia, our case studies show how these cuts affect our communities

The complete report includes detailed analysis of each state and quarterly investment tracking.

It is particularly distressing that the majority of threatened jobs are in the construction and manufacturing industries, which are urgently needed blue collar jobs in our community, "said Dana Kuhnline, co-author of the report. These investments target forgotten areas like Appalachia. The chaotic demolition efforts here will have a particularly serious impact, raising residential energy prices, destroying job opportunities, and handing over America's leadership in clean energy to foreign competitors.