Pari Kasotia

Pari Kasotia
Degree Programs Yale school of the Environment, Master of Environmental Management, 2022
Affiliations Board Member, MDV-SEIA Board Member, Women's Council of Energy and Environment

Pari Kasotia is a mid-career Master in Environmental Management (MEM) candidate. Pari is an energy policy expert with 10+ years of experience in the clean energy space. Currently, Pari serves as the Mid-Atlantic Director for Vote Solar. In this role, she advocates for equity-focused solar policies. Pari is the lead architect and advocate for the NJ Shines campaign that calls for bold targets and funding to increase solar and storage access in low-income and environmental justice communities. Pari was instrumental in providing grassroots advocacy and outreach support for the successful passage of MD Clean Energy Jobs Act in 2019.

In 2018, Pari played an integral role in the creation of the Community Solar Pilot Program in New Jersey under the Clean Energy Act of 2018. Prior to Vote Solar, Pari served as the Deputy Director of The Solar Foundation where she provided organizational leadership and oversight and was the lead author of the first-ever US Solar Industry Diversity Study.

Pari is among kWh Analytics’ #Solar100 thought leaders and is listed in Renewable Energy World’s Solar 40 under 40 Professionals and Midwest Energy News 40 under 40 Emerging Clean Energy Leaders. Pari serves as a Board Member of Maryland, DC, Delaware, and Virginia’s Solar Energy Industries Association (MDV-SEIA) and Women’s Council for Energy and Environment as well Advisory Council member of the Maryland Clean Energy Center.

Previously, Pari held numerous leadership roles at the State of Iowa’s Energy Office where she successfully administered multi-million-dollar clean energy and energy efficiency programs. Pari holds two Master’s degree; an MBA and an MPA. She has a BA in Environmental Policy and Politics. She currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and her daughter.

Authored Articles
Charlotte, NC hybrid bus

The administration can tee up safe, low-carbon transit in cities like Charlotte, NC and others without a cooperative Congress. 

Industrial Policy Can Set the USA on a Decarbonization Pathway

Pari Kasotia
The United States, under its Paris Agreement commitments, must become carbon-free by 2050. Its Congress appears nowhere close to passing laws that would spark an energy transition, though. So the government's executive branch should craft a green industrial policy that mixes incentives, procurement, tax credits and other tools to bring...
Courtesy of Norfolk Solar

(Courtesy of Norfolk Solar) If dollars are flowing into under-served neighborhoods and staying there for as long as they throw off tax savings, why not channel some of them to improve energy justice? Plenty of opportunity remains. 

Where Investors See a Tax Savings, She Saw a Pathway to Clean Energy Equity Goals

Pari Kasotia
The federal Opportunity Zones designation forgives capital gains taxes on investments in neighborhoods that have withstood economic isolation. One Norfolk, Virginia entrepreneur found dollars from investors looking for the tax break, found sites ready for solar development, and found a way to create jobs and increase solar market share in...