Buckeye Institute
Ohio’s SPN think tank — Searle- and Koch-funded, with a gas executive on its board.
§ 1 · Background & fossil-fuel ties
Founded in 1989 and headquartered across the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, the Buckeye Institute is one of Ohio's most influential conservative think tanks. While it presents itself as an independent, nonpartisan organization promoting free-market policies, the Institute is part of the State Policy Network (SPN) — a national coalition of state-based think tanks that has played a significant role in opposing renewable energy mandates, environmental regulations, and climate policies across the country. SPN affiliates have coordinated campaigns against wind and solar development while advancing policies aligned with fossil fuel interests.
Although the Buckeye Institute does not publicly disclose its donors, tax records reveal substantial financial support from organizations that have funded the broader climate-opposition movement. IRS filings show the Buckeye Institute received a $8,000 grant from National Philanthropic Trust in 2024, the dark money fund connected to Suncor billionaire investor Paul Singer. IRS filings also show the Searle Freedom Trust, a well-documented funder of climate denial, provided $350,000 in 2018 and $671,500 total between 2009-2018. SourceWatch's review of IRS filings further found that between 2005 and 2016, two Koch-tied funds, the Donors Capital Fund and DonorsTrust, contributed approximately $1.67 million $1.4 million respectively between 2014 and 2018, while the Koch-funded Stand Together Trust gave $141,096 in 2022. The Charles Koch Foundation provided more than $408,000 between 2016 and 2018.
The Buckeye Institute also maintains direct leadership ties to Ohio's oil and gas industry. Vice Chair Mark Jordan serves as president of Knox Energy, is a member of both the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and the Independent Petroleum Association of America and sits on the board of the Kirkpatrick Jordan Foundation, which donated $35,000-$40,000 annually to the Buckeye Institute in recent years, according to IRS Form 990 filings.
The group has also received about $1.5 million from foundations linked to the industrialist-era Bradley Family, which has long supported campaigns against holding companies accountable for climate change, as well as $7,500 from Leonord Leo’s 85 Fund for in 2023, according to IRS filings.
§ 2 · Record of fronting
The Buckeye Institute produces economic studies, legislative testimony, and litigation that consistently support policy outcomes favored by fossil fuel producers and utilities.
For more than a decade, the Buckeye Institute has opposed Ohio's renewable energy standards. In 2015, Buckeye researcher Greg Lawson testified in favor of freezing Ohio's renewable portfolio standards, arguing that renewable energy mandates "distort" energy markets. That testimony was later circulated by Robert Murray, founder of Murray Energy, as supporting evidence in the coal industry's campaign against Ohio's clean energy requirements. Murray's company has previously funded organizations such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Heartland Institute that similarly opposed renewable energy standards.
Buckeye has also published studies attacking Ohio's renewable energy policies. A frequently cited 2017 Buckeye Institute report argued that the state's renewable energy standard increased electricity prices and recommended repealing the law. The misleading report overstated renewable energy compliance costs while ignoring market trends and declining renewable energy prices. The report nevertheless became a talking point for utilities and lawmakers seeking to dismantle Ohio's clean energy standards.
Buckeye has also been a leading opponent of utility-scale solar development. The organization has targeted Ohio's Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program, which provides tax certainty for renewable energy projects while generating stable revenue for local governments and schools. Buckeye’s analysis was used by Knox Smart Development, an anti-solar organization opposing the Frasier Solar project that has connections to the natural gas industry.
Recently, Buckeye has expanded its advocacy beyond state legislatures into the courts, filing amicus briefs in cases with major implications for climate accountability. In 2026, Buckeye filed an amicus brief in Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to block state-law climate lawsuits against oil companies. Buckeye argued that these lawsuits amount to a state trying to dictate and impose a federal climate tax — overriding federal constitutional power while saying these issues belong in federal, not state, courts. This position closely mirrors arguments advanced by the fossil fuel industry and its trade associations. If these arguments are successful, the case could limit the ability of states and local governments nationwide to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages.
§ 3 · The cover story, debunked
Buckeye is an independent, nonpartisan think tank providing objective policy analysis.
While Buckeye operates as an independent nonprofit, its funding has included grants from the Charles Koch Foundation, DonorsTrust, Donors Capital Fund, and Searle Freedom Trust — organizations that have financed a nationwide network opposing climate and environmental regulations. Its board also includes an Ohio natural gas executive, and its research consistently advances policy positions that align with fossil fuel industry priorities.
Renewable energy mandates distort free markets.
Buckeye frames renewable energy policies as government "picking winners and losers," but overlooks the extensive public subsidies and policy preferences that have long benefited fossil fuels. From tax incentives to below-market leasing and publicly funded infrastructure, government has shaped energy markets for decades. Renewable energy standards were adopted to level the playing field, not distort it. Calling for the repeal of clean energy incentives while leaving fossil fuel subsidies intact does not create a free market — it preserves one that has long favored incumbent fossil fuel interests.
Renewable energy raises electricity prices.
Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of new power generation, and studies show they are lowering wholesale costs by reducing fuel expenses.
Local opposition proves renewable projects lack public support
While communities may have legitimate questions about large-scale energy projects, opposition campaigns are not always purely grassroots. In Ohio, Buckeye's research has been used by anti-solar groups with documented ties to the natural gas industry, illustrating how fossil fuel interests can amplify local opposition to competing energy sources.
Climate deception lawsuits are really a secret carbon tax, improperly seeking to use state courts to set national energy policy.
Climate accountability lawsuits do not seek to regulate national energy policy or impose a carbon tax. Instead, plaintiffs, including states and local governments, counter that these lawsuits are based on traditional state tort law and seek to hold companies accountable for decades of deception about the climate risks of their products, much like past litigation against tobacco or opioid companies.