Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, REPORTS—BlueGreen Alliance report says federal rollbacks threaten clean-energy and manufacturing jobs, (Jul 17, 2026)

By Shashi Kant, BALLB, LLM.

Report links stalled projects, tax-credit restrictions, and worker-safety rollbacks to billions in lost investment and threatened jobs.

A recent BlueGreen Alliance report says federal rollbacks of clean-energy, manufacturing, and labor policies are already costing communities jobs, investment, and workplace protections, with 223 manufacturing, clean-energy, and industrial projects canceled or stalled. The report estimates that those delayed or canceled projects represent at least $82.8 billion in capital investment and could cost up to 111,765 jobs. Announcing the report, the BlueGreen Alliance said the losses are largely tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), executive actions, federal funding cancellations, and agency decisions affecting clean energy, manufacturing, unions, workplace safety, and civil rights enforcement. BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director Jason Walsh said the country had been “on a path to a better future for working people and the planet,” but that Trump administration and congressional actions had damaged clean-energy and manufacturing progress.

Clean-energy and manufacturing losses. The report states that 223 clean manufacturing, energy, and industrial projects have been canceled or stalled across the country. That includes 84 manufacturing projects representing at least $52 billion in capital investment and 139 clean-energy and industrial projects representing at least $30.8 billion in capital investment. The Alliance estimates that the lost or delayed projects could affect 47,135 manufacturing jobs and 56,959 construction jobs. The report also identifies a broader set of projects at risk from stricter tax-credit eligibility rules under OBBBA. According to the Alliance, more than 3,034 manufacturing, clean-energy, and industrial sites now face tighter deadlines and restrictions, putting at risk $695.2 billion in capital investment and 1,184,996 jobs. Those totals include at least 750 manufacturing sites expected to create more than 160,000 manufacturing and operations jobs and more than 20,000 construction jobs, as well as 2,284 clean-energy and industrial sites expected to support more than 36,000 manufacturing and operations jobs and nearly 968,000 construction jobs.

Policy backdrop. The report contrasts the current policy landscape with federal investments made under the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It says those laws helped drive clean-energy deployment, domestic manufacturing, transmission, electric-vehicle infrastructure, industrial decarbonization, and labor standards intended to support high-quality jobs. The report states that clean-energy and manufacturing investment accelerated after enactment of those laws, with private-sector clean-energy investment rising substantially and manufacturing construction increasing sharply during 2022 and 2023.

The BlueGreen Alliance also argues that OBBBA reversed that trajectory by rolling back clean-energy tax credits and investments. The report says wind and solar projects faced a July 4, 2026, construction deadline to remain eligible for certain tax credits, placing 567 wind and solar generation projects at risk of losing eligibility. The report estimates those projects account for 90,512 megawatts of nameplate capacity, $114.9 billion in investment, 15,355 operations jobs, and 256,156 construction jobs.

Project and sector examples. The report highlights the Grain Belt Express transmission project and Ultium Cells battery facility as examples of how federal policy shifts can affect clean-energy infrastructure and manufacturing communities. According to the report, the Trump administration terminated a conditional loan guarantee of up to $4.9 billion for the Grain Belt Express, a proposed transmission line intended to move wind-generated power from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois to Indiana.

The report also states that the project was expected to support approximately 5,500 jobs and deliver large energy-cost savings, and that loss of federal backing has created financing uncertainty and delayed job creation. The report also describes job losses at Ultium Cells in Ohio following repeal of electric-vehicle consumer tax credits. It states that the facility, a General Motors and LG Energy Solution joint venture, had nearly 2,200 workers as of June 2024 and had been organized by the United Auto Workers. After the tax-credit changes and slowing EV sales, the report says the plant saw around 500 jobs lost and 850 workers temporarily laid off.

Worker rights and safety. Beyond project cancellations, the report argues that federal actions have weakened worker protections. The Alliance points to executive orders, funding cuts, and agency decisions affecting unions, workplace safety, diversity and equity initiatives, and civil-rights enforcement. Its press release cites the weakening of EPA Risk Management Program rules, delay of a silica rule for mine workers, an executive order stripping collective-bargaining rights from more than one million federal workers, reduced Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections and penalties, and rollbacks of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice initiatives. The report states that OSHA conducted 20 percent fewer workplace inspections in 2025 and that inspections produced a 42 percent decrease in citations for willful violations, along with the lowest penalty total in 17 years. BlueGreen Alliance Vice President of Health Initiatives Charlotte Brody said weakening safety protections, delaying silica protections, reducing OSHA enforcement, and limiting union rights made work more dangerous and workers less safe.

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