The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets.

It sprang from a predecessor group called the Institute for Humane Studies of Texas, which was established in 1984. ^[1] Donors to the institute have included ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute, and Peabody Energy. ^[2]

Background

The Institute for Energy Research analyzes “the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets.” The institute supports free-market energy policies and free-market responses to environmental challenges. ^[3]

The IER perspectives are based on the tenets of free markets, objective science, public policy tradeoffs, efficient outcomes, and impartiality. ^[4]

The Institute for Energy Research was founded in 1989 by a predecessor group called the Institute for Humane Studies of Texas, which was established in 1984. Charles Koch, a right-leaning philanthropist, was a founding board member. The Texas group was part of a larger Institute for Humane Studies founded in 1961 in Menlo Park, California, that later moved to George Mason University in 1985. ^[5]

Donors

Opponents have described the Institute for Energy Research as being funded by energy companies as well as Charles Koch. ^[6]

Donors to the Institute for Energy Research include energy firm ExxonMobil; American Petroleum Institute, a trade advocacy group for the oil industry; and coal firm Peabody Energy. ^[7]

Other donors include two Koch family foundations, the Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. ^[8]

Free Market Advocacy

The Institute for Energy Research contends attempts to correct “market failure” in energy markets must be measured with the reality of “government failure,” arguing that it is not possible to compare “idealized government actions with real-world market outcomes” since such policies are implemented by politicians and bureaucracies. ^[9]

The institute argues private property rights, market exchange, and the rule of law have historically resulted in affordable energy. The institute contends that environmental public policy should be based on objective science, rather than emotions or improbable scenarios. ^[10]

IER backs efficient outcomes that it considers in the best interest of energy consumers, energy producers, and taxpayers. The institute says government policies should be impartial and unbiased, which the organization defines as “predictable, simple, and technology neutral.” It argues that “this approach will spur capital formation in the energy industry and promote technological innovation.” ^[11]

The institute runs the Federal Energy Spending Tracker, which is a database of federal subsidies for energy producers and energy products. ^[12]

Policy

The Institute for Energy Research criticized the Biden administration’s move in July 2022 to release 4.6 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, noting the oil in the reserves has lower density and is more expensive to refine in the United States, which could drive up prices and make the United States more reliant on foreign refining sources. ^[13]

The institute was also critical of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that passed Congress with a party-line vote in 2022. The institute was critical of the $369 billion for climate incentives and noted the number of taxpayer subsidies for weather-dependent energy sources. In the meantime, the institute argued, the bill did nothing to address the rising energy costs such as gasoline and electric bills or to make infrastructure permitting less burdensome. ^[14]

Leadership

Robert L. Bradley Jr. is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Energy Research. He is also a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is an energy and climate change fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. He is the author of eight books. A former executive at Enron, he wrote the 2018 book, Enron Ascending about the company before its financial collapse. ^{[15] [16]}

Tom Pyle is the president of the Institute for Energy Research. ^[17] Pyle was appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy transition team for President-elect Donald Trump after the 2016 election. ^[18] Pyle is a former lobbyist for Koch Industries. ^[19] Pyle was previously the founder of Pyle Consulting and was formerly the vice president of the Rhodes Group in Washington, D.C. He is a former policy analyst for former House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) and was the staff director for the Congressional Western Caucus. ^{[20] [21]}

Lisa Wallace is the senior vice president of the Institute for Energy Research. ^[22] Previously, she worked on Capitol Hill as a senior adviser to then-Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA) and as the chief financial officer for the House Committee on Resources. ^[23]

Preston Marshall is a member of the board of directors of the Institute for Energy Research. He is president of Marco. ^{[24] [25]}

Jim Clarkson is a member of the IER board of directors. He is president of Resource Supply Management. ^[26]

Steven F. Hayward is a member of the board of directors for IER. He is a visiting professor at Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy. He is also the author of the Almanac of Environmental Trends. ^[27]

Wayne Gable is a member of the IER board of directors and the president of Gable Consulting. ^[28]

Trent Sebits is a member of the IER board of directors. ^[29] He is the CEO of Pickrell Drilling Company. ^[30]