The East Lansing Community Solar Park. The park went online in 2019 and was built on top of a retired landfill at Burcham Park. | Kyle Davidson
Following reports from 2023 and 2024 pointing to Michigan as a national leader in clean energy jobs, the state is continuing to lead the country in attracting battery manufacturing sites, solar and wind manufacturing plants, and new or expanded facilities for building electric vehicles as it heads into 2025.
On Tuesday, Climate Power, a communications firm focused on building support for climate action, released its latest “Clean Energy Boom” report, taking stock of the clean energy industry across the U.S.
“With new federal investments, clean energy is not only booming, it has become central to state economies and integral to their energy supplies. Thanks to these innovative energy industries, Americans have more energy choices than ever before. These industries are now part of the backbone of American manufacturing, and staples of American households,” Climate Power wrote in the report’s introduction.
Federal subsidies that began with President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act have spurred the highest levels of factory construction in American history, the report notes, citing data from the United State Bureau of Economic Analysis. As a result, companies have announced and moved forward with 751 clean energy projects since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed on Aug. 16, 2022, generating 406,007 new jobs and marking $422 billion in investments across 48 states and Puerto Rico.
Michigan, Texas, Georgia, California, South Carolina, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona and Tennessee have secured the bulk of these projects. Michigan remains at the top, securing 74 projects since August 2022. Texas ranked second with 61 projects, while Georgia ranked third with 50 new projects, continuing trends from the previous report.
Compared to the other states leading new development in the clean energy sector, Michigan ranked fourth in jobs, with the state’s clean energy projects creating or securing more than 26,000 jobs, while receiving $27.84 billion in investments.
Georgia secured the greatest number of new jobs, 43,266, while New York ranked second with 28,979 and Texas was third with 26,476.
January-2025-Clean-Energy-Boom-Report
The report also highlights multiple facets of Michigan’s clean energy developments including its “booming” battery manufacturing industry exemplified by a $1.6 billion commitment from Michigan-based Our Next Energy to establish a battery cell manufacturing plant in Van Buren Township. Cabot Corp., a chemicals and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, has received a federal grant to establish a plant manufacturing EV battery-grade carbon nanotubes and conductive additives, while Australia-based Fortescue metals announced a marine battery pack manufacturing facility in Detroit, with plans to create 600 jobs.
The state is also positioned to grow as a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing, Climate Power reports, pointing to a $500 million grant for General Motors to retool its Lansing Grand River Plant for EV assembly, retaining 650 jobs. International parts manufacturer Magna also announced more than $526 million in investments to expand its facilities across the state, as well as $100 million for a new seating plant set to supply General Motors EVs in Auburn Hills, creating 500 new jobs.
However, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized attempts to shift the American auto industry to electric vehicles, alongside sharing plans to eliminate the Inflation Reduction Act and roll back Biden’s climate and energy policies.
In October, Climate Power warned that a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act would jeopardize many of the jobs announced since the law was put in place.
During a campaign stop in October, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance drew the ire of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after refusing to commit to upholding the $500 million grant for GM’s Lansing Grand River plant, claiming these types of grants were selling American jobs overseas to China, as the nation produces the materials and components needed for battery production.
“When you have a chance to save hundreds of good-paying Michigan auto jobs and create more, you take it,” said Whitmer, who served as a co-chair of both Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaigns. “Instead, the Trump-Vance ticket is giving the middle finger to Michigan auto workers by refusing to support their jobs at GM. The Biden-Harris administration acted to save this plant. But all Donald Trump cares about is billionaires like Elon Musk, not Michigan auto workers.”
According to a report from the Detroit News, GM planned to source its batteries from a battery plant under construction in nearby Delta Township. However, the automaker has since decided to sell its stake in the plant to its partner on the project, LG Energy Solutions, with a report from WILX noting that GM would obtain its batteries from its plants in Ohio and Tennessee.
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