Formation 1989 Location Washington, D.C. Founded 1989 | Founded at Houston, Texas Founder Robert L. Bradley Jr. | |
Board of directors Richard L. Stroup, Steven F. Hayward Website instituteforenergyresearch.org Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Type of business Nonprofit public policy research Similar FreedomWorks, Competitive Enterprise Institute, The Heartland Institute, American Center for Law & Ju, Media Research Center Profiles | ||
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that conducts research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that the free market provides the most inexpensive solutions to global energy and environmental challenges.
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History
IER was founded in 1989 by Robert L. Bradley Jr. in Houston, Texas. IER began by distributing quarterly reports to a small but growing list of donors in the early 1990s and eventually expanded its publishing capabilities to include highly publicized studies. It was not until 2001 when Bradley, who previously worked as Enron’s public policy analysis director, secured funding to make IER a full-time organization. In 2007, IER was moved to Washington, D.C. where it transformed itself into an energy think tank producing research and analysis on global energy markets.
In 2009, an article in Mother Jones magazine said IER was among the most prominent organizations questioning the existence and extent of anthropomorphic climate change.
Leadership
The Institute's CEO and founder, Robert L. Bradley Jr., is a visiting fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, a research fellow at the Center for Energy Economics at the University of Texas at Austin, and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He has written seven books, including Capitalism at Work and Edison to Enron.
Funding
IER is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and is funded by tax deductible contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. IER has received funding from the Brown Foundation (started by founders of a construction and energy company), the Searle Freedom Trust and the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation. They have also previously received funding from ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute, the Center to Protect Patient Rights, and Peabody Energy. IER says that it has not sought for or accepted financial support from the government.
IER has been described as a front group for the fossil fuel industry, firms in which have in the past donated money to the Institute.
American Energy Alliance
The Institute for Energy Research has a political arm, the American Energy Alliance (AEA). According to its website, the AEA engages in "grassroots public policy advocacy and debate" regarding energy and environmental policies.
In 2013, AEA provided an online petition to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry regarding the U.S. federal government administration's approval of the Keystone XL pipeline extension. AEA supports approval of the pipeline.
The AEA opposes a Wind Production Tax Credit.