Institute for Rural Energy Studies

Front GroupLaundered AcademicMedium activity

Research shop supplying agricultural-land-loss studies

Ithaca, NYFirst tracked August 30, 2017

Two staff and a mailing address, but a publication list long enough to look like a university. Its soil-loss papers are the citation of record for farmland arguments across the Finger Lakes.

Free-market absolutistsCo-opted environmentalists

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

Ontario, Yates

Projects opposed

Solar & storage dockets

Funding received

$1.2M

2 traced inbound edges

Funding given

$62K

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

Ontario6 ev.
Yates7 ev.
Seneca7 ev.
Steuben11 ev.
St. Lawrence7 ev.

Project dockets

Canandaigua StorageOntario Co.NO DOSSIER
Benton SolarYates Co.NO DOSSIER
Prattsburgh SolarSteuben Co.NO DOSSIER
Lisbon SolarSt. Lawrence 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 Cost20 · 33.3%
Environmental Impact13 · 21.7%
Property Value Claims11 · 18.3%
Fire / Battery Safety9 · 15%
Other / Unknown7 · 11.7%

Most-repeated claim

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

Who They FundTraced 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.

Payment disclosedMay 28, 2025Contractor payment from Ariel Corporation covers the same period as testimony on Canandaigua Storage.
Channel monitoredMay 21, 2025Linked Ontario County group added to the monitor; 962 members in its first month.
Coalition letter co-signedMay 9, 2025Co-signed a letter to the Yates County legislature opposing ORES preemption under Article VIII.
Board minutes matchedApr 24, 2025Language in Canandaigua board minutes matched a submission filed on Canandaigua Storage.
Hearing appearanceApr 2, 2025Spoke for 6 minutes against Canandaigua Storage at the Canandaigua planning board.
Study entered into recordMar 18, 2025Cost and land-use study submitted to the Canandaigua board; funding disclosure omitted from the filing.
First tracked activityAug 30, 2017Entered the monitor via a Ontario County record referencing Benton Solar.

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

IRES
Rural Energy Studies Group

Affiliations

Ariel Corporation
State Policy Network
Dr. Marcus Fenwick

Network position

Classified as a front group in the three-tier model, with 5 traced funding edges.