The U.S. clean-energy workforce now totals more than 3.5 million jobs across sectors such as renewables, energy efficiency, grid modernization and clean vehicles. (Media Lens King/Adobe Stock)
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December 16, 2025
By Chrystal Blair
Communities across Michigan said promised federal investments tied to clean energy and economic development are disappearing, along with thousands of jobs.
Clean energy advocacy group Climate Power estimated more than 64,000 clean energy jobs nationwide have been lost or stalled, as federally approved grants, loans and incentives have been pulled back.
Gary Schlack, a city council member in Allen Park and a National Guard veteran, said Michigan communities are feeling the fallout firsthand.
“The auto industry is unfairly treated by policies coming out of Washington, D.C.,” Schlack contended. “It’s not just happening in Detroit but it’s something you see around places, such as the battery startup in Holland just shut down and laid off dozens of workers. It’s impacting all of us here in Michigan.”
A planned $210 million EV battery plant in Detroit was canceled this fall, costing an estimated 600 union jobs. Other battery startups in the western part of the state were also shut down. In response, federal officials said the funding cuts are part of a broader effort to rein in federal spending and refocus energy policy on market-driven solutions rather than government subsidies.
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency pulled back a $20 million congressionally approved grant for Benton Harbor, halting plans for solar projects, job and literacy training and a warming and cooling center.
Marcus Muhammad, mayor of Benton Harbor, argued the money should be approved.
“It’s a travesty of justice, because those funds were allocated by the Congress,” Muhammad pointed out. “It was a bill that was passed, signed by the previous president and clawed back by the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Benton Harbor is now part of a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s authority to cancel funding approved by Congress. Michigan is also among 22 states suing over the cancellation of the federal “Solar for All” program for low-income households. Federal officials contended private investment, not federal incentives, should drive energy innovation and job growth.
