Empire Center for Public Policy

Front GroupLaundered AcademicMedium activity

State think tank; publishes ORES cost studies cited in hearings

Albany, NYFirst tracked September 8, 2011

Produces the ratepayer-cost and decommissioning-liability numbers that reappear, uncited, in town board resolutions. Its $2M cleanup-cost figure has now been read into the record in 18 towns.

Free-market absolutists

Recommended engagement strategy

Publish a same-week rebuttal with the funding disclosure attached, and ask the board to require source citation.

Laundered Academic profile: Supplies the citation that everyone else repeats. Attack the funding disclosure, not the person.

Open counter-measure playbook

Hearing appearances

Logged in minutes

Counties active

Albany, Cayuga

Projects opposed

Solar & storage dockets

Funding received

$2.5M

4 traced inbound edges

Funding given

$180K

3 traced outbound edges

Arguments logged

Top: Ratepayer Cost

Where They OperateCounties with a tracked filing, appearance, or monitored channel, and the specific project dockets involved.Counties with a tracked filing, appearance, or monitored channel, and the specific project dockets involved.

Counties

Albany6 ev.
Cayuga8 ev.
Tioga6 ev.
Ontario6 ev.
Rensselaer6 ev.

Project dockets

Cato SolarCayuga Co.NO DOSSIER
Berkshire Storage ProjectTioga Co.
Canandaigua StorageOntario Co.NO DOSSIER
Schodack StorageRensselaer Co.NO DOSSIER

View on county map

What They ArgueArgument classification from filings, testimony transcripts, and monitored posts. Counts are statements, not documents.Argument classification from filings, testimony transcripts, and monitored posts. Counts are statements, not documents.

Ratepayer Cost25 · 32.5%
Environmental Impact17 · 22.1%
Property Value Claims15 · 19.5%
Fire / Battery Safety12 · 15.6%
Other / Unknown8 · 10.4%

Most-repeated claim

“Ratepayers absorb the cost and the town inherits the cleanup.”

Who Funds ThemTraced grants, dues, contractor payments, and campaign contributions. Amounts come from 990 filings, grant letters, and NYS BOE data.Traced grants, dues, contractor payments, and campaign contributions. Amounts come from 990 filings, grant letters, and NYS BOE data.

Inbound

Outbound

Open in funding network

Activity Log7 entriesChronological record assembled from hearing minutes, local law filings, 990 disclosures, and monitored channels.Chronological record assembled from hearing minutes, local law filings, 990 disclosures, and monitored channels.

Board minutes matchedMay 28, 2025Language in Cato board minutes matched a submission filed on Cato Solar.
Hearing appearanceMay 21, 2025Spoke for 12 minutes against Cato Solar at the Cato planning board.
Study entered into recordMay 9, 2025Cost and land-use study submitted to the Cato board; funding disclosure omitted from the filing.
990 filing reviewedApr 24, 2025Amended Form 990 discloses new grants tied to Albany County activity; original donor not named.
Payment disclosedApr 2, 2025Contractor payment from DonorsTrust covers the same period as testimony on Cato Solar.
Channel monitoredMar 18, 2025Linked Albany County group added to the monitor; 2133 members in its first month.
First tracked activitySep 8, 2011Entered the monitor via a Albany County record referencing Berkshire Storage Project.

Aliases & AffiliationsAlternate names seen in filings and the organizations this actor is formally or functionally tied to.Alternate names seen in filings and the organizations this actor is formally or functionally tied to.

Known aliases and filing names

Empire Center
Empire Center Energy Program

Affiliations

State Policy Network
NYS Petroleum Council
Dr. Helena Voss

Network position

Classified as a front group in the three-tier model, with 7 traced funding edges.