| Founded | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Location |
|
| Fields | Energy, climate policy |
Key people | Hal Harvey, Founder Sonia Aggarwal, CEO |
| Website | energyinnovation |
Energy Innovation is an American non-partisan policy think tank focused on energy and climate policy. It offers policy solutions to reduce emissions from buildings and industriy, transition to a clean grid and zero emission vehicles and lower consumer costs. [1] [2]
It was founded in 2012 as Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology LLC by Hal Harvey in San Francisco, California.
Harvey was the chief executive officer of Energy Innovation from 2012 to 2023. Harvey also founded other climate-focused organizations and worked at the Hewlett Foundation in charge of their environment-related initiatives. [3] Harvey is the co-author of the books The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet and Money Well Spent: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy. [4] [5] Harvey is the recipient of the Heinz Award in 2016 and the Haagen-Smit Award — given by the government of California's Air Resources Board — in 2018. [6] [7]
Sonia Aggarwal is the CEO of Energy Innovation since 2023. She was the vice president of Energy Innovation before working as the Senior Advisor for Climate Policy and Innovation in the Biden administration. [8]
Both Harvey and Aggarwal have co-authored op-eds in The New York Times with Justin Gillis. [9]
The science journalist and writer Shannon Stirone is the managing editor. [10]
Mike O’Boyle is the policy team director who has written in various publications. [11] O’Boyle and Gillis have co-authored an op-ed in The Times about the need for utilities to go for new power plants based on wind and solar and not build new power plants based on burning natural gas. [12]
O’Boyle has written an op-ed with former Colorado governor Bill Ritter in The Times in which they advise American States to “move quickly” so that “they can tap billions of dollars in clean energy investment and save consumers hundreds of millions” in response to legislation passed by Congress and supported by the Trump administration that phases out various federal incentives for clean energy investments. [13] O’Boyle's op-ed in The Los Angeles Times talks about how California can access federal incentives for clean energy before those incentives are eliminated by the Trump administration. [14]
Energy Innovation has published research in peer-reviewed journals. [15] [16] [17]
A 2025 report from Energy Innovation estimated that producing electricity from coal in the U.S. was more expensive in 2024 than in 2021 and three quarters of coal plants saw their costs rising faster than inflation during this same period. [18] [19]
Energy Innovation's Energy Policy Simulator tool helps design the appropriate energy policy. [20] The Times referred to it as an “interactive policy simulator” that “lets you see the potential impact of a wider array of climate policies and technological advances.” [21]
In their podcast in July 2025, Harry Godfrey [22] and Sarah Steinberg of the industry association Advanced Energy United discussed the implications of the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Energy Innovation estimated OBBBA will result in an increase in electricity prices as well as loss of GDP and jobs over the next decade. [23] [24] [25] [26]
In their October 2022 podcast, implications of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) were discussed with Jessica Eckdish of the BlueGreen Alliance and Mark Kresowik of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Energy Innovation describes IRA as the "most significant climate legislation in United States history." [27] [28]
Energy Innovation's analysis shows that the repeal of the IRA will have several deleterious consequences for America — including an increase in household energy costs and increased climate pollution apart from job losses and decrease in GDP. [29] [30]