FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 16, 2025
Contact: John Neurohr, [email protected], 717-364-6452
New Analysis Reveals 67% of Region’s Projected Clean Energy Jobs Now at Risk as Federal Investments Drop from $4.7B Peak to Flatline
APPALACHIA — ReImagine Appalachia will host a press call to release a new report, “Tracking the Appalachian Impacts: What’s on the Line as Federal Funding Flatlines,” examining the dramatic decline in clean energy investments across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The report analyzes quarterly data from 2018 through Q3 2025, tracking both federal and private investments across three major categories: energy and industry deployment, clean energy manufacturing, and retail purchases of greenhouse gas-reducing technologies by households and businesses.
The analysis reveals that 67% of projected clean energy jobs in the region – over 61,000 jobs – are now at risk following policy shifts under the Trump administration. The report documents how investments that had tripled from 2021 to 2024 have now flatlined, threatening transformative economic opportunities in Appalachian communities.
For an embargoed copy of the report, please email John Neurohr at [email protected].
For sample case studies pulled from the report, click here.
WHO: Report authors Diana Polson, Rike Rothenstein, and Dana Kuhnline
Rob Bair, President of the PA State Building Trades and a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
WHEN: Thursday, December 18, 2025 — Noon-1:00 PM ET
WHERE: Via Zoom — register here
KEY FINDINGS:
- Clean energy investments in the four-state region dropped from a peak of $4.7 billion in Q3 2024 to $3.8 billion in Q1 2025, with continued flatlining through Q3 2025
- Energy and industry expenditures plummeted from $1.27 billion in Q3 2024 to just $445 million by Q3 2025
- 67% of the 92,282 projected clean energy jobs in the region are now at risk—over 61,000 jobs
- Federal funding decreased significantly as the Trump administration took office, reversing gains from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
- The majority of threatened jobs are in construction and manufacturing—good blue-collar jobs that don’t require college degrees
- National data from the Federal Reserve corroborates regional trends, showing private construction spending in manufacturing plateaued at $240 billion in mid-2024 after tripling from 2021
- Ohio and Pennsylvania have been the strongest performers in capturing federal investments, while West Virginia has captured the least