Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

The organization supports moving away from affordable, traditional sources of energy such as oil and gas and supports the adoption of more expensive and less reliable energy sources such as wind and solar. In addition, the group is supportive of expanding biofuel and ethanol production. ²

Congressional Work

EESI’s primary work is targeted towards Congress. The group began life in 1975 as a Congressional caucus known as the Environmental and Energy Study Conference; it was founded by liberal Democratic U.S. Representatives Dick Ottinger (D-N.Y.) and John Sieberling (D-Ohio) and Republican Reps. John Heinz (R-Pennsylvania) and Gilbert Gude (R-Maryland), both considered centrists. ¹ At its height, 85 Senators and 295 Representatives joined the caucus. In 1984, it was spun off as an independent organization. ³

EESI primarily works to influence lawmakers. It holds an annual exposition, Clean Energy EXPO, on Capitol Hill for environmentalist energy technologies and other technologies. ⁴ At the expo, environmentalist energy companies present their products. The purpose of the event is to secure federal support, including subsidies, for the industry. ⁴

Energy Policy

Ethanol

EESI supports an increase in the use of ethanol and other biofuels. It has advocated for increased amounts of ethanol blended into gasoline. It claims that the increased ethanol use in the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate has avoided putting greenhouse gases in the air. ⁵

In addition to claiming the RFS has allowed the U.S. to avoid putting greenhouse gases in the air, it claims that ethanol production is better for the environment than producing gasoline. “On the other hand, more and more energy-intensive practices are being used to extract oil and produce gasoline. Oil from tar sands, for example, produces significantly more greenhouse gases than traditional petroleum, and is becoming a larger percentage of the fuel supply. Therefore, as biofuels replace more carbon-intensive gasoline, they provide even greater emissions reductions.” EESI wrote. ⁶

As a part of its support for biofuels and ethanol, EESI campaigns and works on farm legislation.

Nuclear Power

EESI opposes expansion of nuclear power, even though nuclear energy creates no emissions from power generation.

In July 2018, EESI held a briefing with various anti-nuclear organizations such as Beyond Nuclear, Ecological Options Network, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition (IPSEC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), Riverkeeper, Safe Energy Rights Group, Unity for Clean Energy (U4CE). The briefing was held on the topic of storage of nuclear waste. ⁷

The panelists portrayed nuclear as a declining source of power. It also opposed the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. ⁷

Leadership

Executive Director

The current executive director of EESI is Carol Werner. She originally joined EESI in 1987 when she became director of its Energy and Climate Change program. EESI promoted her to executive director in 1998. ⁸

Werner is a co-founder of the U.S. Climate Action Network. In the past, she has served on the policy committee of the American Solar Energy Society. She has also served on the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Advisory Board. ⁸

Currently, she serves on the board of the National Center for Appropriate Technology and on the steering committee of the Sustainable Energy Coalition. ⁸

Before joining EESI, Werner was a legislative assistant to Congressman Neal Smith (D-Iowa) and legislative representative for the National Consumer Law Center. ⁸

Other Officers

Daniel O’Brien is the operations associate of the organization. He manages the day to day operations. ⁸

David Robison is the director of finance and administration. During his tenure at EESI, he has developed a plan to boycott fossil fuel companies with the organization’s retirement accounts. ⁸

Susan Williams is the director of development and leads EESI’s fundraising. Before she worked for EESI, she worked for Conservation International and Green Empowerment. Before that she worked in consulting on climate change issues. ⁹

Amaury Laporte is the director of communications. Before he served as communications director for the French Embassy to the U.S. ⁸

Board of Directors

EESI has a board of directors which is led by Jared Blum. Blum is the vice chair of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. He is the previous president of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association. ¹⁰

Linda Church-Ciocci is the vice chair of the board. She serves as the executive director of the National Hydropower Association. Previously, she served as a board member of the American Council on Renewable Energy. ¹⁰

The organization also has an advisory board, which consist of left-wing activists and former state-level energy policy officials. Such left-wing activists include Sam Ricketts, a staffer for Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D); Joseph Romm, a senior fellow at the Democratic establishment-aligned think tank Center for American Progress; and Scott Slesinger, the legislative director for the environmentalist group Natural Resources Defense Council. ¹⁰

Funding

According to EESI’s 2017 tax returns, the organization took in $1.4 million in revenue. It spent $1.2 million in expenses. ¹¹

The largest expense was $783,855 for the energy and climate change program. The next largest expense was $159,068 for the sustainable biomass and energy program. The third largest expense was $148,114 for the high performance green buildings program. ¹¹

Carol Werner makes a salary of $122,892 and receives another $24,389 in other compensation. ¹¹

Among the donors are several left-wing foundations. The David Rockefeller Fund has given $25,000 annually since 2016. ¹²

The Surdna Foundation has funded EESI in the past. In 2016, Surdna funded a grant to EESI that would help low income communities implement the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. ¹³

The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust has also awarded grants to EESI. It awarded EESI a $300,000 grant in January 2019. ¹⁴