Cari Collins

About Cari Collins

I am a Senior Director of Public Affairs with 13 years of experience advancing utility-scale energy and infrastructure development across complex regulatory and political environments. My expertise spans federal legislative advocacy, state regulatory engagement, wholesale market design, ESG governance, and infrastructure siting strategy for solar, energy storage, and data center development.My career bridges the commercial and policy sides of the industry. I began working within the market and regulatory frameworks that shape project economics and transmission access, and progressed into executive-facing leadership roles advising on federal permitting, legislative exposure, reputational risk, and enterprise governance. This business-to-policy foundation enables me to translate regulatory change into commercial impact and align external affairs strategy with portfolio growth and financeability.At Recurrent Energy, I have advanced through four roles over six years, expanding from state-level market advocacy in organized power markets to federal leadership and enterprise oversight of public affairs, communications, and ESG governance. I designed and implemented the company’s ESG compliance framework to align with evolving global regulatory standards and investor expectations, while leading policy and stakeholder strategy affecting multi-gigawatt solar, storage, and co-located data center portfolios.I work at the intersection of policy, communications, and commercial execution, partnering closely with development, finance, and executive leadership to ensure regulatory positioning supports grid access, market entry, and long-term infrastructure deployment in high-growth sectors.

Experience

1. Board Member

   Solar Energy Industries Association

   Jan 2025 — Present

   Serve on the Board of Directors of the Solar Energy Industries Association, supporting national advocacy, federal and state legislative strategy, and industry positioning on solar and energy storage policy.

Education

• Southeast Missouri State University

  Bachelor of Arts (BA), Political Science

  2003 — 2006

• University of Missouri-Kansas City

  Master of Arts (MA), Political Science

  2011 — 2013

Skills

• Policy Analysis
• Databases
• Data Analysis
• Marketing Communications
• Community Outreach
• Government
• Customer Service
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Environmental Policy
• Data Entry
• Event Planning
• Microsoft Excel
• Policy