The Energy Foundation

The Energy Foundation, founded in 1991, was created as a vehicle for several foundations to “pool their money into an organization specifically devoted to changing energy policy at the state and federal level as the highest leverage means to create large new markets for clean energy technologies.” says David Wooley, vice president for domestic policy initiatives. The Foundation employs experts on energy efficiency and renewable resources whose primary role is to prepare packages of grants based on detailed strategies created in consultation with a coordinated network of leading researchers, policymakers, and advocates in the clean energy field. When the staff determines there is an unmet need in the field, the Energy Foundation may also convene workshops, commission papers, or take other direct initiatives.  Argosy began partnering with the Energy Foundation in the summer of 2007 to support the organization’s work to resist expansion of coal-fired generation in the U.S.

Wooley says coal-fired plant resistance became important in 2003, when large numbers of new plants were proposed in the U.S. “These plants would have increased greenhouse gas emissions dramatically taking us in the wrong direction on climate change,” he explains. “We funded groups to oppose the plants, and Argosy contributed significantly to the program.”

According to Wooley, the Energy Foundation funds organizations to engage at several levels, including, research, litigation, community organizing, and policy-maker education. “It is extremely important to educate the public about the adverse health and economic impacts of coal plants,” he says.  Emissions of acid gases, fine particles and toxic metals from coal plants cause lung disease and birth defects in humans, acidify water bodies and contribute to global warming.  New coal plants are expensive, at least twice as much as meeting the equivalent amount of demand with energy efficiency services.

Argosy values the research-based methods of the Energy Foundation and feels privileged to partner with an organization dedicated to careful analysis and proven results.  The trustees feel a responsibility to base decisions on solid research, whether that research is done by Argosy staff or by an outside source. They acknowledge that they simply do not have the resources or knowledge that the experts at the Energy Foundation have available to them, and believe these experts can make better, more well-informed decisions regarding the funding of coal-fired plant resistance projects.  For this reason, they asked the experts at the Energy Foundation to determine where funds were most needed in the U.S. As a result, Argosy’s support for the Energy Foundation has been deployed in the following key states: Florida, Louisiana, Kansas, Georgia, and Missouri. Groups that have received support through this grant include the Sierra Club, GreenLaw in Georgia, the Land Institute in Kansas, and WildLaw in Florida.

The effort is producing results.  “In 2007, 57 coal plant proposals were abandoned,” states Wooley. “Our grantees helped in 35 of those cases.” Funding is used to empower health, environmental, and consumer groups to put forward the best available research on pollution impacts, economic risks, clean energy alternatives, and air pollution permit and public utility commission proceedings. This partnership is in the first year of a three-year grant cycle.  Updates to this work will be undertaken over the next several years.