The Associated Press reported that national groups including the Heartland Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) are heralding the repeal of West Virginia's alternative energy mandate as a lynchpin to repeal stronger renewable energy standards in other states. But the AP identified the Heartland Institute and ALEC only as “national small government groups,” ignoring their significant ties to the fossil fuel industry.

West Virginia will likely soon become the first state to repeal an alternative energy standard, following a multi-year campaign by fossil fuel interests to target more environmentally-friendly renewable energy standards in statehouses across the country. In recent days, both chambers of the West Virginia state legislature easily passed a bill repealing the state's Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, which requires 25 percent of the state's energy to come from alternative power sources (including non-renewable sources) by 2025.

The AP reported on January 31 that groups including the Heartland Institute and ALEC “argue renewable energy plans limit free market choices and could result in higher electricity costs,” but did not reveal that these groups are tied to fossil fuel interests that would benefit from repealing clean energy standards:

After West Virginia legislators voted to delete a law that counts burning tires and some coal as alternative fuels, national small government groups are turning the uncontroversial repeal into a rally cry to remove more stringent energy standards in other states.

[...]

National small government lobbies, including The Heartland Institute, still heralded the repeal's passage in West Virginia in early January as a win and a call to action.

“One can only hope other states follow West Virginia's sensible lead,” H. Sterling Burnett, Research Fellow, Environment & Energy Policy for The Heartland Institute, said in a news release after the state House passed the bill Jan. 22.

The groups argue renewable energy plans limit free market choices and could result in higher electricity costs. But for years, the American Legislative Exchange Council and others have failed to get any states to delete their standards.

As The Washington Post has noted, “In many cases, the groups involved [in efforts to undermine renewable energy standards and other environmental initiatives] accept money from oil, gas and coal companies that compete against renewable energy suppliers.” The anti-renewables campaign by Heartland and ALEC is a case in point.

The Heartland Institute, infamous for its annual climate denial conferences, received over $700,000 from Exxon Mobil between 1998 and 2006. Heartland has also received significant funding from organizations with ties to the oil billionaire Koch Brothers, including the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation and DonorsTrust, which has been partially funded by the David Koch-chaired Americans for Prosperity Foundation.

Since 2012, Heartland has been working to dismantle state clean energy policies with ALEC, a corporate front group that connects fossil fuel industry executives with legislators to push model bills that serve industry interests. Their “Private Enterprise Advisory Council” includes fossil energy powerhouses such as Koch Companies Public Sector, Energy Future Holdings, and ExxonMobil.  According to a 2011 report by the Center for Media and Democracy, “Koch foundations have given ALEC at least $600,000 in the past decade or so.”  Additionally, according to research by Greenpeace, Exxon corporations have provided over $1.6 million in funding to ALEC since 1998.

In a segment on his weekly news roundup show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver described the extent of ALEC's legislative influence and how the organization essentially drafts the language in state legislation attacking renewable energy standards:

OLIVER: It's basically a conservative bill mill which has helped develop model legislation from Arizona's notorious SB 1070 immigration bill to bills expanding private prisons, payday loan companies and for-profit colleges, all of which we've talked about on this very show. In fact, I'm going to list ALEC in the credits for our show as associate producer of creating horrifying things for us to talk about. Great work, ALEC! See you at the end-of-season wrap party, you pieces of shit.

The thing is, ALEC is everywhere. Roughly 1 in 4 state legislators are members, and it's not hard to see why. ALEC makes their jobs troublingly easy. Here's their model electricity freedom bill, which at one point says, “be it therefore enacted that the state of, insert state, repeals the renewable energy mandate.” So, as long as you can remember and spell the name of your state, you can introduce legislation.

Image at the top from Flickr user William McLaughlin via Creative Commons