by Nicholas Glover
Despite all the talk about strengthening American manufacturing, the Trump administration is determined to weaken an area where manufacturing is growing: clean energy.
Clean energy companies added over 400,000 jobs in the last few years — a large portion of them in manufacturing, building the technologies of the future here in America. These jobs are unlocking opportunities in every part of the country, especially in places in most need of investment: disadvantaged communities and rural areas. We should be doing everything we can to make sure communities across the country can benefit from these family-sustaining jobs — especially Black communities and places that have been most harmed by polluting industries.
That’s why it’s incredibly damaging — and downright confusing — that the Trump administration is killing American jobs in solar, wind, EVs, and batteries.
From day one, the administration took aim at clean energy, blocking major grants from transformational climate laws and leaving farmers, schools, churches, and small businesses holding the bag for payments. President Trump signed orders to pause the leasing and permitting for offshore wind projects, as well as solar projects on federal lands. And now, a chaotic tariff policy threatens the certainty that clean energy companies count on to make big investment decisions.
Despite the damage that’s been done, Congress can still do what’s right: protect clean energy jobs and the industry that’s essential to our future. This spring, the Trump administration has its sights set on repealing game-changing tax credits that have sparked the clean energy job boom we’re seeing; however, they must go through Congress to get it done.
Congress should be championing this progress — not putting it at risk.
More than two-thirds of new clean energy investments are flowing into communities of color and rural areas, creating good-paying jobs and delivering much-needed funding for schools, roads, and local services. These investments are offering a lifeline for places too often left behind. Congress should be championing this progress — not putting it at risk.
Take Waller County, Texas, for example. Waller has a rich diversity of Hispanic and Black communities. It’s home to Prairie View A&M University, the largest HBCU in Texas. Finding steady employment in Waller has been tough; the poverty rate here is higher than the rest of the Houston metro area, in part because livelihoods have depended on the volatile boom and bust cycle of the oil industry.
Now, new clean energy investments in the county, spurred by the tax credits, are creating good-paying jobs in more stable industries. Two solar panel manufacturing companies have announced multi-million dollar investments in the county, which will generate close to 2,000 jobs. Meanwhile, students at Prairie View A&M are getting hands-on experience in solar energy through the university’s new Solar Lab.
Or look at a place like Liberty, North Carolina, a small rural town that has watched shops downtown close and young people leave elsewhere for work — a story that’s unfortunately familiar to many other rural communities. Thanks to federal tax credits, Liberty has landed the largest economic development project in the state and one of the nation’s largest clean energy investments in a community of color: Toyota is building a $13.9 billion EV battery manufacturing plant, which is expected to create more than 5,000 jobs. That doesn’t even begin to reveal the cascading effect on surrounding communities.
A nearby college, Guilford Technical Community College, which has a significant Black enrollment, started a program to train students for these high-paying technical jobs. And local restaurant owners are also excited about new customers. As a longtime resident and city manager described it, “For the first time in the 250 years of Randolph County’s existence, we have a chance to be wealthy.”
If the transformative stories in districts around the country aren’t reason enough for our elected representatives, then they should listen to what a growing chorus of business leaders has to say about the clean energy tax credits. More than 300 clean energy business leaders wrote to congressional leadership denouncing repeal attempts, arguing that repeal would “pull the rug out from growing American businesses and countless workers.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also defended the investments, saying they have been instrumental for “energy security” and “competitiveness.”
If America steps back, there’s no question we’ll be left behind as global competitors race to win these jobs and industries. But this isn’t just about global competition — it’s about the families, the businesses, and the communities who have been writing a great American comeback thanks to these clean energy investments. It’s about Black communities across the country getting the chance to be at the forefront of the clean energy boom. It’s about Waller County, Texas, and Liberty, North Carolina, and so many places like them that are excited about the future they’re building.
The question is: Will their elected officials uphold their oaths and defend that future?
As a member of the Environmental Defense Fund’s U.S. Leadership Team, Nicholas Glover is vice president of the organization’s Build to Zero workstream — a core U.S. region strategy that represents the next phase of EDF’s efforts to intensify the speed and scale of clean energy deployment in the U.S. made possible by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Source: Seattle Medium