Always On Energy Research (AOER)

Always On Energy Research provides data, academic research, practical analysis, and policy recommendations to its clients, ranging from government agencies to independent nonprofit organizations. ² The group has connections to right-of-center policy groups. ³

Activities

Always On Energy Research aims to make energy policy comprehendible for everyone, from voters to policymakers. AOER claims to provide accessible, credible data through its use of models that analyze cost, reliability, electrification, and carbon fuel reduction; legislative and economic impact assessments; polling, energy-specific campaign strategy and policy consulting; legislative and regulatory testimonies; research papers and briefs; regulatory impact analysis; and opinion editorials. ⁴

In 2024, AOER published a report called “The Staggering Costs of New England’s Green Energy Policies,” which was commissioned by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, the Maine Policy Institute, the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, the Ethan Allen Institute, the Yankee Institute, and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The report states that complying with the New England Decarbonization Plans would increase electricity costs for families and businesses, with the largest increases affecting industrial and manufacturing businesses. The report also states that adopting environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies introducing hydrogen blending into natural gas would raise heating costs for those who heat their homes with fuel. ³

In response to this report, the Acadia Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for weather-dependent energy, claimed that AOER’s analysis is flawed and misleading. The Acadia Center claims that the report ignores the cost of fuels purchased from sources outside of New England and the cost of weather disasters associated with climate change. The Acadia Center acknowledges the significant costs associated with transitioning to weather-dependent energies, but points to models from Massachusetts’ 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap and Clean Energy and Climate Plans showing that while electricity costs will increase in the immediate future, those costs will decrease after 2030. ⁵

Financials

Always On Energy Research was granted nonprofit status in 2023 and has not filed a full, publicly available tax return as of January 2025. In 2023, it filed the IRS e-Postcard for organizations declaring less than $50,000 in annual gross receipts. ⁶

Board of Directors

Amy O. Cooke is cofounder, president, and chair of the board of Always On Energy Research; the founder of EastxWest Strategies, a public policy consulting firm; and the chair of the board of School Boards for Academic Excellence. Cooke formerly worked as CEO of the John Locke Foundation, publisher of Carolina Journal, and executive vice president of the Independence Institute. ⁷

Isaac Orr is cofounder and vice president of research at AOER. Orr is a former policy fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, a former research fellow specializing in hydraulic fracturing at the Heartland Institute, and a former legislative aide for the Wisconsin State Senate. ⁸

Mitch Rolling is co-founder and director of research at AOER. Rolling is a former policy fellow, analyst, and research specialist at the Center of the American Experiment. ⁹