Clean energy developers announced more than 50 new utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage projects in Q1 2026 as companies scramble to get projects moving before a looming federal deadline tied to Trump’s big bill act passed last year.
According to new data from E2’s latest “Clean Economy Works” report, developers announced 54 new large-scale renewable energy projects between January and March, nearly double the number of active projects announced during all of 2025.
The projects represent more than $18 billion in planned investment and would add over 12 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity generation and storage capacity to the grid – enough to power around 2 million homes.
The report underscores something the industry has been warning about for months: Developers are rushing to break ground before federal clean energy tax incentives become harder to access under new rules tied to the OBBA. Companies are trying to move quickly ahead of a July 4 deadline that could make future projects far more difficult to finance.
Cancellations are piling up, too
At the same time, E2 says the Trump administration’s attacks on clean energy projects, along with congressional efforts to roll back incentives and funding, are having a negative impact on electricity supplies and prices.
While developers announced dozens of new projects in Q1, companies also canceled 38 utility-scale solar, wind, and battery projects during the same period. That’s nearly half the total number of clean energy cancellations recorded during all of 2025, when 85 projects were scrapped.
Those canceled projects would have added nearly 8 GW of electricity generation capacity – enough to power roughly 2 to 3 million homes.
The economic losses are significant too. According to E2, the canceled projects represented nearly $13 billion in local investment and would have supported or created around 33,000 construction jobs.
For comparison, canceled projects throughout calendar year 2025 accounted for around $27 billion in lost investment and 45,000 jobs.
The report comes as electricity demand is rising sharply across the US due to AI data centers, industrial growth, and transportation electrification. Solar, wind, and battery storage remain the cheapest and fastest sources of new electricity generation to deploy at scale.
Clean energy manufacturing slowdown is getting worse
The manufacturing side of the clean energy economy is slowing down, too.
E2 tracked seven canceled, closed, or downsized manufacturing projects during Q1 2026 across states, including Oklahoma, Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Those projects would have represented nearly $1.35 billion in investment and around 8,100 jobs.
Meanwhile, companies announced only 12 new major manufacturing projects during the quarter, totaling roughly $758 million and nearly 2,000 jobs.
That’s a dramatic slowdown compared to 2023 and 2024, when companies announced an average of more than 60 new clean energy factories every quarter.
Interestingly, nearly all the new factory announcements in Q1 were tied to grid equipment, transmission technology, or energy storage manufacturing.
But all of the canceled manufacturing projects were tied to EVs, solar, wind, or hydrogen.
EV manufacturing has been hit hardest
EV manufacturing, the largest clean energy manufacturing sector tracked by E2, currently has 166 active EV-related manufacturing projects totaling more than $84.4 billion in announced investment.
But the sector has also seen the biggest pullback.
Since 2022, E2 has tracked 58 canceled, closed, or downsized EV manufacturing projects totaling around $25.5 billion in lost investment. That’s nearly one-quarter of all announced EV manufacturing investment.
Battery and renewables manufacturing are seeing very different outcomes
Battery energy storage manufacturing has seen the highest cancellation rate relative to investment.
E2 says it tracked nearly $16.9 billion in active battery and storage manufacturing investment, but more than $8.6 billion tied to 18 projects has already been canceled or downsized. That means roughly one-third of announced battery storage manufacturing investment has disappeared.
Renewable energy manufacturing has held up better.
According to E2, solar and wind manufacturing projects account for around 116 active projects and roughly $20.4 billion in investment, while only about $2 billion in projects have been canceled – less than 10% of announced investment.
Grid and transmission manufacturing has been the most stable clean energy sector overall.
E2 says companies have announced more than $6.4 billion in active investment across 58 grid-related projects since 2022, and only one project cancellation totaling $150 million has been recorded.
Electrek’s Take
This report paints two very different scenarios of the US clean energy economy that are happening simultaneously.
On one hand, developers are still racing to build solar, wind, and storage projects because demand for electricity is exploding and clean energy remains the fastest and cheapest power source to deploy.
On the other hand, policy uncertainty is clearly freezing investment decisions across manufacturing, especially in EVs and batteries.
The irony is that while the Trump administration is making it harder to build clean energy projects, defying all logic and doing the country a great disservice, the US grid desperately needs more electricity generation as data centers and electrification drive demand higher. And Republican-held congressional districts continued to see the largest share of both clean energy investment and project losses.
Despite the political attacks, the numbers in this report show companies are still trying to move as fast as possible before incentives disappear.
You can check out E2’s Clean Economy Works (CEW) Project Tracker here.
Read more: Renewables’ installed capacity to beat natural gas by 2027 – EIA data
If you’ve ever considered going solar, make it easy by finding a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing by checking out EnergySage. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online, and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
