Institute for Energy Research
| Institute for Energy Research | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Affiliation: | Nonpartisan |
| Founder(s): | Robert L. Bradley |
| Year founded: | 1989 |
| Employees: | 15 |
| Website: | Official website |
Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1] The group does analysis and research pertaining to "the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets" and supports for free-market environmental polices.[2]
Background
Robert L. Bradley, Jr., an energy sector analyst with Enron, founded IER in 1989 in Houston, Texas.[3] IER opened an office in D.C. in 2007.[4] In 2008, IER founded an affiliated 501(c)(4) advocacy organization called American Energy Alliance to support its work (see affiliated program section).[5]
As of December 2025, the organization's website stated that it "maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society."[2] IER's website listed the following principles to which it subscribed:[2]
| “ | Free markets: History shows that private property rights, market exchange, and the rule of law have resulted in affordable energy, improved living standards and a cleaner environment.
Objective science: Public policy, particularly in the environmental area, should be based on objective science, not emotion or improbable scenarios that invite wealth-reducing government activism, which often impairs society’s resilience to change. Public policy tradeoffs: Policies that attempt to correct “market failure” in energy markets must be tempered with the reality of “government failure.” It is inappropriate to compare idealized government actions with real-world market outcomes. Government policies are implemented by politicians and bureaucracies, not by unbiased and informed academics. Efficient outcomes: The welfare of energy consumers, energy producers, and taxpayers can and should be considered together. Impartial and unbiased: Government policies should be predictable, simple, and technology neutral. This approach will spur capital formation in the energy industry and promote technological innovation.[6] |
” |
Leadership
As of December 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at IER:[2]
- Robert L. Bradley, Jr., CEO and founder
- Thomas J. Pyle, president,
- Daniel Kish, senior vice president of policy
- Lisa Wallace, senior vice president of operations and development
- Dustin DeBerry, vice president of development
- Kenny Stein, vice president of policy
Work and activities
IER work included publishing studies, policy briefs, and commentary on state and federal energy policy.[7] Additionally, IER published resources on energy policy aimed at lawmakers and government officials.[8]
Legislative and policy work
North American Energy Inventory
IER published the first edition of its North American Energy Inventory study in 2011. The purpose of the series was to catalogue and quantify the United States' energy resources, including oil and gas reserves. According to the 2024 edition, released May 2024, the inaugural edition "shattered the myth of energy scarcity by using the government’s own data to show the vast oil, coal, and natural gas resources that North America is blessed with underneath our lands and waters. Before the report, there was a widespread belief that we were running out of oil, natural gas, and, to some extent, coal."[9]
Editorial position
IER supported President Donald Trump's (R) 2025 decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement.[10][11] The Paris Agreement was a United Nations compact on climate change signed by 194 countries and the European Union in 2015. According to the United Nations, the goal of the agreement was to limit the increase in the earth's global temperature.[12]
In 2023, IER released a list of "175 ways the Biden Administration and Democrats Have Made it Harder to Produce Oil & Gas," including President Joe Biden's (D) revocation of a permit underpinning the Keystone XL pipeline at the start of his presidency.[13][14] The pipeline would have conveyed oil from Canada to Nebraska.
Affiliations
Institute for Energy Research has a separate 501(c)(4) advocacy organization that supports its work, American Energy Alliance.[5]
Finances
The following is a breakdown of IER's revenues and expenses from 2014 to 2024. The information comes from ProPublica.
| Year | Revenue | Expenses |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $2.3 million | $2.2 million |
| 2023 | $2.3 million | $2.4 million |
| 2022 | $2.3 million | $2.0 million |
| 2021 | $1.2 million | $1.4 million |
| 2020 | $1.2 million | $1.5 million |
| 2019 | $1.7 million | $1.5 million |
| 2018 | $1.6 million | $1.6 million |
| 2017 | $976,000 | $1.4 million |
| 2016 | $2.0 million | $1.7 million |
| 2015 | $3.1 million | $2.3 million |
| 2014 | $1.8 million | $2.2 million |
See also
- What is an influencer?
- 501(c)(3)
- nonprofit organization
- Washington, D.C.
- Energy Policy
- American Energy Alliance
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtaxes2013 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Institute for Energy Research, "About," accessed December 11, 2025
- ↑ MasterResource, "The Institute for Energy Research: Formation and Early History," June 24, 2021
- ↑ MasterResource, "On the History of IER (for the record)," April 11, 2024
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 American Energy Alliance, "About the AEA," accessed December 11, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Institute for Energy Research, "Studies and Data," accessed December 11, 2025
- ↑ Institute for Energy Research, "Resources for Policymakers," accessed December 11, 2025
- ↑ Institute for Energy Research, "2024 North American Energy Inventory," accessed December 9, 2025
- ↑ Institute for Energy Research, "75 Actions the Trump Administration and Congressional Allies Have Taken to Unleash Our Energy Potential," April 29, 2025
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Process and Potential Effects," April 14, 2025
- ↑ United Nations, "22 April 2016 High-Level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Agreement," accessed December 11, 2025
- ↑ Institute for Energy Research, "175 Ways the Biden Administration and Democrats Have Made it Harder to Produce Oil & Gas," September 19, 2023
- ↑ CNBC, "Keystone pipeline officially canceled after Biden revokes key permit," June 9, 2021
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