Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is an environmentalist think tank based in Colorado. It was established in 1982 by activist Amory Lovins. Lovins has been an opponent of zero carbon nuclear energy and, along with other RMI researchers, has repeatedly criticized nuclear power. ^{1 2 3}

Annual revenue reported by RMI increased by 109 percent during the five years of reporting periods between June 2016 and June 2020. Reported annual revenue for the year ending June 2016 was $29.5 million. Annual revenue reported for the year ending June 2020 was $61.9 million. ⁴

RMI merged with Carbon War Room in 2014, expanding its presence worldwide. RMI’s initiatives aim to transform the global energy market to sources like solar and wind, while reducing the use of conventional energy. ⁵ The RMI opposes nuclear energy (nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions). ¹

Background

The Rocky Mountain Institute aims to replace fossil fuel usage with environmentalist-approved energy sources, intending to create economic growth. RMI uses its own research and analysis in support of implementing these changes. ⁵

The Rocky Mountain Institute is an opponent of nuclear energy. ⁶ Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 20 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ⁷ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ⁸

In 2013, the RMI partnered with the National Development and Reform Commission, a Chinese government agency responsible for economic planning, to encourage households within China to replace preexisting appliances with “clean energy technologies.” ⁹

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

In a 2011 report for RMI, the group’s founder, Amory Lovins, asserted that nuclear power is “costly and dangerous and a poor alternative to renewable energy sources.” Lovins reiterated his criticisms of nuclear power in a July 2017 report for RMI. In a February 2022 report on solutions to an energy shortage in Europe, an RMI researcher recommended that policymakers not look “backward to domestic fossil or large-scale nuclear,” criticized French and Dutch investments in nuclear energy, and proposed that all of Europe should instead invest heavily in alternative sources such as weather dependent wind. ^{1 2 3}

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero-carbon electricity in the United States. ¹⁰ An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ⁸

Gas-Stove Study

In December 2022, the RMI published a study which claimed that roughly 13% of childhood asthma is attributed to the usage of gas stoves within a household. According to the Free Beacon, the study itself was roughly nine paragraphs and used data from several sources including 2019 U.S Census information and Australian-based analyses from 2018. According to Yale professor of medicine Dr. Harvey Risch, “This paper does not do any research on possible association between residential natural gas use and risk of childhood asthma…It only calculates a percent of childhood asthma that could be attributable to residential natural gas use and risk of childhood asthma.” ¹¹ In addition, the Free Beacon reported that the two authors of the study do not have relevant scientific education or background: RMI researcher Talor Gruenwald has a master’s degree in international affairs, while head of RMI’s “Carbon-Free Buildings” program Brady Seals graduated with an MBA from the University of South Dakota. ⁹

In January 2023, Consumer Product Safety commissioner Richard Trumka Jr commented on imposing a possible ban of gas stoves by stating, “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.” ⁹ He later walked back his comments after public outcry and confirmed on January 12 to CNN that any regulations would apply to “new products” and further noted, “we are not looking to go into anyone’s homes and take away items that are already there…We don’t do that.” ^{11 12}

However, earlier on January 4, 2023, RMI posted on their twitter page, “JUST IN: More than 12% of US childhood asthma is preventable, if we remove gas stoves from homes and move towards electric stoves instead.” ¹³

In February 2023, the official calendar of Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was obtained by right-of-center watchdog group American for Public Trust (APT) through the Freedom of information Act (FOIA), and it revealed that in June 2021 Granholm had met with RMI’s then-CEO Jules Kortenhorst prior to the Gas Stove study being published. ¹⁴ APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland reacted to the meeting by stating,

“Despite calling stories about the Biden Administration banning gas stoves ‘ridiculous’ and ‘not true,’ Secretary Granholm’s calendar tells a different story. We’ve now learned that she consulted with the dark money group pushing to ban gas stoves. Suffice to say, ‘ridiculous’ and ‘not true’ proposals don’t ordinarily involve a meeting with the Secretary of Energy—and where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” ¹⁴

Funding

The Rocky Mountain Institute’s IRS reporting years end on June 30. For the year ending June 2010, RMI reported annual revenue of $9.9 million. ⁴

Annual revenue increased by 109 percent during the five years of reporting periods between June 2016 and June 2020. Reported annual revenue for the year ending June 2016 was $29.5 million. Annual revenue reported for the year ending June 2020 was $61.9 million. ⁴

Combined revenue for the five-year period (2016-2020) was $223.5 million. Average annual revenue for the period was $44.7 million. ⁴

An internal audit covering the year ending June 2022 showed “total revenue, gains and other support” totaling $115.1 million. ¹⁵

Major Financial Supporters

According to charitable recordkeeping service Foundation Search, from 2016 through 2020 the Rocky Mountain Institute received $101.5 million in combined support from 169 charitable foundations. The report showed the largest donor was the Foundation for the Carolinas (FFTC), with $34.1 million in reported donations to RMI during the five-year period through 2020. ¹⁶

Fred Stanback

FFTC is a donor advised fund that has been identified in media reports as a major funding vehicle for left-wing billionaire Fred Stanback. In 2014 alone, according to the Los Angeles Times, Stanback put $397 million into his FFTC account. A 2018 report in the Knoxville News characterized Stanback as a “known proponent of anti-humanist environmentalism [. . .] the belief that protecting the environment hinges on population control.” ^{1718 19}

Every Rocky Mountain Institute annual report from 2007 through 2022 identified Stanback and his wife, Alice, as donating at least $1 million to RMI during the year. ²⁰ The 2010 report credited the couple as RMI’s “biggest individual donors” who had “doubled their giving last year.” ²¹ Stanback’s children were also frequently listed in the reports as minimum six-figure annual donors. ^{20 22 23}

The 2015 RMI annual report profiles investment manager Julian Robertson, the philanthropist who funded the Robertson Foundation. According to the profile, Robertson credited Stanback, a childhood neighbor, with introducing him to Rocky Mountain Institute founder Amory Lovins and starting a giving relationship with RMI. The RMI annual reports from 2015 through 2019 show the Robertson Foundation as a minimum $1 million donor. Foundation Search lists the Robertson Foundation as a $1.5 million donor for 2020. ^{24 20 16}

Other Institutional Supporters

Additional supporters to the Rocky Mountain Institute  whose contributions exceeded $1 million total during the 2016 through 2020 period reported by Foundation Search include The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation ($5.8 million combined from 2016 through 2020), the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment ($4.7 million), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund ($4 million), the Sall Family Foundation ($4 million),the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ($3.2 million), the Rockefeller Foundation ($2.7 million), the Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation ($2.6 million), Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors ($1.9 million), Virgin Unite USA ($1.7 million), TomKat Foundation ($1.7 million), the Energy Foundation ($1.5 million), the Heising-Simons Foundation ($1.5 million), the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund ($1.4 million),the  ClimateWorks Foundation ($1.3 million), Save the Children Federation Inc. ($1.2 million), the Lemelson Foundation ($1.1 million), the Argosy Foundation ($1.1 million) and the Lewis Foundation ($1 million). ¹⁶

Other noteworthy foundation supporters over the 2016 through 2020 period included the Heinz Endowments ($813,000 total from 2016 through 2020), the Foundation to Promote Open Society ($750,000), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($524,000), the Ford Foundation ($500,000), the Sierra Club Foundation ($388,000), the Bloomberg Family Foundation ($350,000), the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation ($307,000), and the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation ($212,000). ¹⁶

The RMI annual reports for 2020-2022 also list the following foundations as minimum $1 million donors during one or more years: Bezos Earth Fund, Oak Foundation USA, High Tide Foundation, Quadrature Capital Foundation, Lyda Hill Foundation, Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation and the IKEA Foundation. ²⁰

The RMI annual reports for 2020-2022 list the following corporate donors as minimum $500,000 donors for one or more years: Google.org, Berkshire Energy LLC, CBRE, FedEx, General Motors, Microsoft, Salesforce, AT&T, Bank of America, BP, Shell PLC, Apple and Gates Ventures. ²⁰

People

Amory Lovins is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is the author of Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era. ²⁵

Jon Creyts is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RMI. Joining in 2012, he has also served as chief program and strategy partner for the organization. Prior to RMI, Creyts served as a partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Company for 11 years within their global energy practice. He serves as board chair with nonprofit group Energy Web, which advocates for using technology to advance the transition to green energy, and previously was on the board for green advocacy groups WattTime and the Chicago Zoological Society. ^{26 27}

Edward “Ted” White, is the board chair of RMI and managing partner of Fahr LLC, a company formerly directed by Tom Steyer, a left-wing, hedge-fund billionaire turned climate-change activist. ²⁸

RMI trustee Todd Stern was the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change under the Obama administration, appointed by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ²⁹ Stern has a long history of contributing to Democratic political candidates and to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). ³⁰

Coalition Memberships

Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) (Non-profit)

Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) (Non-profit)

Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) (Non-profit)

Associated Organizations

Ameresco (For-profit)

Business Renewables Center (BRC) (Non-profit)

Black Bear Energy (For-profit)

Carbon War Room (Non-profit)

City of Denver

Collective Sun (For-profit)

Duke Energy (For-profit)

E Source (For-profit)

Energy Web Foundation (EWF) (Non-profit)

The Good Traveler (Non-profit)

Holy Cross Energy (For-profit)

Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) (For-profit)

MobilityData (Non-profit)

WattTime (Non-profit)

Donor Organizations

Airport Cooperative Research Program (Government Agencies)

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (Nonprofit)

Aria Foundation (Non-profit)

Aspen Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) (Non-profit)

Bloomberg Family Foundation (Bloomberg Philanthropies) (Non-profit)

Caldera Foundation (Non-profit)

City of Boulder, Boulder Energy Challenge (Government Agencies)

ClimateWorks Foundation (Non-profit)

Clinton Climate Initiative (Non-profit)

Craigslist Charitable Fund (Non-profit)

David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Non-profit)

Denver Foundation (Non-profit)

Department of Energy (Government Agency)

Dutch Postcode Lottery

Educational Foundation of America (Non-profit)

The Environment Foundation (Aspen) (Non-profit)

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (Non-profit)

Flora Family Foundation (Non-profit)

Foundation for the Carolinas (FFTC) (Non-profit)

Gates Family Foundation (Non-profit)

Global Environment Facility (For-profit)

Google Foundation (Non-profit)

Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (Non-profit)

Smith Richardson Charitable Trust (Non-profit)

Heinz Endowments (Non-profit)

Heising-Simons Foundation (Non-profit)

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Non-profit)

Kettering Family Foundation (Non-profit)

Lewis Foundation (Non-profit)

Luther College (Non-profit)

Mertz Gilmore Foundation (Non-profit)

Nathan Cummings Foundation (Non-profit)

New Belgium Family Foundation (Non-profit)

Oak Foundation USA (Non-profit)

Robertson Foundation (Non-profit)

Rockefeller Brothers Fund (Non-profit)

Rudy and Alice Ramsey Foundation (Non-profit)

Sandler Foundation (Non-profit)

Virgin Unite (Non-profit)

Walton Family Foundation (Non-profit)

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (Non-profit)

Board of Trustees

Edward “Ted” White, Board Chair of RMI, Managing Partner of Fahr LLC

Jon Cretys, CEO of RMI, Board Chair of Energy Web

Seven Denning, Chairman Emeritus of General Atlantic LLC

Wei Ding, founder and chairman of Broad River Capital

Amory Lovins, co-founder and chief scientist and Chairman Emeritus of RMI

Dennis McGinn, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, 2013-2017

Martha C. Pickett, Managing Director and General Counsel of RMI

George Polk, Programs & Strategy Committee Chair of RMI, Managing Partner of Tulum Trust

Elizabeth Sall, Development Committee Chair of RMI, Founder and President of UrbanLabs LLC

Sumant Sinha, founder and CEO of ReNew

Todd Stern, former U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change

Jessica Uhl, vice chair for Mission Possible Partnership

Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, founder and CEO of The Energy Nexus Network

Audrey Zibelman, member of President Biden’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council

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