Green Giants – Episode 39

Kimberlee Centera (01:22)

Yeah, it’s a good question. You know, my dad was a scientist and I remember growing up and going with him, he was actually a teacher, going with him on field trips out to the Delta. He was always really connected to the power of science and the power of the planet. And I think he was one of the earliest pioneers, at least in my life, as far as, you know, just encouraging to be thinking about that. Thinking about the environment. And I didn’t know at the time how powerful, and how relevant that was going to become later in my life. But I think that those were really the seeds of, you know, what became my career and really that connection to the land.

Wes Ashworth (01:56)

Yeah, love that. And what was the genesis of those early days of TerraPro, how that all came to be and how that evolved?

Kimberlee Centera (02:14)

I had, I started out working at SeaWest Wind Power, so a small wind developer and really the owner of SeaWest at the time was, you know, again, one of the pioneers, early days of renewables. One of the first projects that I worked on under the direction of SeaWest was really a project up in Altamont where all the turbines were individually owned and all the rights were individually held, so it was my job to try to resolve the title issues.

And it was daunting because every single turbine, and if you can envision back in the early days, all these small turbines, and we had to go track down or try to track down all those people because we wanted to repower. And so, you know, the first words out of the title company is, okay, we’ll go terminate all the old rights so we can clean up the land to be able to move forward. And so those were the early days, just really blessed to work with great people that were so committed. Went then to AES corporation. I think when it came to TerraPro in 2012, AES at that time exited renewables, they closed our office in San Diego, and it was a pivotal time in my career because I had to decide I’d always been a corporate employee. That was really all I knew.

I was not one of those people who grew up or, you know, saying, I really want to be an entrepreneur. But I think I started asking myself questions, you know, what can the future look like? And this idea came to me that what I was going to go work for a title company and actually, you know, help them grow their renewable division. And then I started to think, well, what if, what if I did this myself? What if I did it for myself? And, you know, I think renewables is one sector where there’s a lot of pioneers, right? There’s a lot of people out there trying things. And I felt like if not me, who? If not now, when, right?

And so, you know, I didn’t have it all mapped out. I didn’t know all the steps. I really kind of felt like I was taking the leap, as they say. And, you know, the idea of creating a business from the ground up, I think, especially being a woman, I had never thought of myself in terms of what am I worth on an hourly basis? How do you create that basic pro forma model? All of that was really an amazing journey and it really challenged me to grow and look at myself. And I really realized that I had strengths and talents that I had no idea I had.

Wes Ashworth (04:45)

Yeah, I love that so much. And those, “What if?” questions are so powerful. I think those are some of the greatest leaders in the world, you know, those that are like, I don’t necessarily, I’m not seeking it out per se, but if not me, who’s gonna do this? And this is important work. So I think it’s an incredible journey that you’ve had.

Transitioning a bit to what TerraPro does. So TerraPro Solutions specializes in mitigating risk for large-scale renewable projects. What are some of those most common risks that developers face? And how does your team approach these challenges?

Kimberlee Centera (05:37)

Well, being that my background was really in development and I knew keenly, you know, on a day-to-day basis, I knew what that looked like. I knew the challenges that I encountered. And I think some of the biggest factors that I see are the importance of time. And a lot of our clients underestimate the significance of time and how it can be either an ally or, you know, an enemy. And they’re not thinking about what we’re thinking about.

Things just can take a lot longer than you think that they’re going to and when I would have people call me and they’d be sitting at the closing table and they’re telling me, my gosh, Kim, we just got told by the title company that we have to have surface waivers and our wind project and we’re literally sitting at the closing table. There’s no way we’re going to have those tomorrow or the next day, right? And so these kinds of things come up and so I became really passionate and still am about helping people understand the importance of, you know, anticipating what’s going to be coming up and giving yourself that benefit of the time because it also helps us to control costs, right?

I mean, if you’re sitting at the table and you’ve got to have that document signed by tomorrow, you’re going to send somebody out to the field and say, I don’t care what you have to do, what you have to pay, I mean, go get it, right? And so being in those situations was tough. I think the other really important factor that we see is the importance of collaboration. And even before COVID and even with teams sitting in the same office.

A lot of times there’s the siloing and you’ve got the design team that’s working on the design. You’ve got procurement that’s, you know, maybe they’re buying the turbines or the panels. You’ve got construction that’s working on their part and they’re not always talking. And so you have your design team, they’re going down a certain path and all of sudden they change the panels or they change the turbines. you know, sometimes the design team is the last one to know, right? And it can make a huge difference.

And one of the areas that we are really an important partner in is bringing everyone to the table and making sure that they’re talking and collaborating because that communication, you know, the date of the closing is moved or whatever it might be, making sure that that information is shared, super important, easily it’s underestimated.

Wes Ashworth (08:13)

Yeah, agreed wholeheartedly. And I think a lot of people say it, but very few actually practice it, you know, and really live that out, that highly collaborative environment and getting those departments really singing the same song, you know, and rowing in the same direction. So I think that’s critical and no doubt has been a huge factor of your success and growth in the company.

I would love to hear if one comes to mind or one that you can share, maybe an example of a project where your risk mitigation strategies significantly altered the outcome like one that you’re proud of or one that would be good to share?

Kimberlee Centera (08:46)

Well, there’s many, right? Because that’s the fun challenge of renewables. I think there’s a few that stand out that particularly were important to me. And, you know, being that I sat in that developer seat, there’s nothing that I object to more than being backed into a corner. It’s like don’t back me into a corner.

And we were negotiating mineral coverage, which I’m sure everyone is familiar with, doesn’t matter, wind, solar, know, whatever the sector, it’s a big, you know, it’s a big issue. And we were working with a family. They happened to control the minerals, you know, minerals can be severed from the surface estate. And so we had different parties, right? We had all the land, all the leases were signed for the project site, but we had to circle back and get our surface waivers. We were trying to get the Ulta 35 coverage, which is one of the coverages that the lenders require, equity requires. And we were out trying to work with this family and they had put one of the young people in charge, engineer, really smart guy, good guy. But they wanted a lot of money, you know, they really, and every time we went back, you know, they really wanted more money. And, I remember saying, we really want to work with you. We really want to collaborate with you. But if there’s a way that we can go around this, we’re going to.

And it took some time to work on it, but we were able to determine that in this particular jurisdiction, you might have been granted the mineral, the surface rights to exploit the minerals, but you were not given access. So if you didn’t have access, you could not just go onto the property and start developing. And so as it turned out, when we went out and looked at those rights more closely, we realized that they were not inclusive of access. And so the agreements were done so that there was a prohibition on the landowners granting rights that would, you know, affect the project negatively.

So at the end of the day, we were able to, through consortium of things, including the fact that, you know, these folks were not going to be able to get access to be able to use the minerals, so we were able to get the coverage and we were able to move forward with the project. And so I was, I was pretty proud of that. And I think it wasn’t negative, you know, but it was just one of those things where we’re going to figure out a solution to this. I don’t like being held hostage.

Wes Ashworth (11:18)

No, nobody backs Kimberlee into a corner, what you said. Thinking about some of the other complexities that come up, legal complexities often pose major challenges for renewable energy projects. Can you share a story or another example of a particularly difficult case your team encountered and how you successfully navigated that.

Kimberlee Centera (11:25)

Well, I think again, you know, one of the interesting features about renewables is that opportunity to work in so many different states and you encounter so many different things when you do that. And, you know, we had a particular project where we had overlaying rights with state lands, we had federal lands, and even our state lands were held by different entities, so some of it were held through a school trust and so we had to negotiate with the state to get a lease. And we had to work around, you know, when you’re dealing with governmental agencies, they’re not always sympathetic to, you know, all of our financing requirements.

So in this case, we had to work out a way where, you know, we could only get a certain term on our lease, there was only so many, you know, there’s only so many years they were willing and able to give. And so we were able to negotiate a preferential right for extension to be able to use that for our financing. Also, in looking at some of our rights and interests, we realized that there were the recorded rights for some of the agencies, but then there were a lot of unrecorded grazing leases and everything, so we ended up with a lot of layering of rights and, you know, negotiations, which, going into it, we didn’t necessarily know. And it was really important to manage that to control the cost of the project.

But I always like to laugh too, because I felt like I learned something everywhere. And so in that case, I learned about cow calf units, which, I had no idea what that was prior to that. But that was the valuation, right? And so I think, you know, all those things really contribute and help going into the next jurisdiction.

Wes Ashworth (13:23)

Yeah, I think looking at it and where a lot of developers come in and you think about those, they’re so complex, and so there’s overlaps, as you said. It’s constantly changing and evolving and state to state, country to country. There’s a lot of complexities there and it’s constantly changing and evolving. And it’s like, how do you stay up with all that? And so thank God people like you exist to help navigate through it.

How do you stay updated with that evolving legal frameworks across those different regions to ensure compliance and project success?

Kimberlee Centera (14:06)

Well, it’s, you know, again, we’re very blessed. Last year we worked, or yeah, the year prior, 77 projects in 25 states, right? So, you know, that cross-collateralization as far as that knowledge, I think has been, you know, really super helpful. And, just having a chance to bring in some of the understanding from some of the other areas. I think also we’ve cultivated a lot of relationships with title companies, ALTA surveyors, other stakeholders that we work closely in alignment with. And so there’s also, you know, the ability to make sure that we’re staying on top of things there.

You know, one of our missions really when we’re working with people and they’re going into an area or a state county for the first time is to get our team together because our team is national as well. So to bring in that expertise, right? There’s that element of, I like to think of it as like a brain trust in a sense, because everybody has, you know, a deep, we have a deep bench of title experience in a lot of different jurisdictions. So bringing that together is really important and making sure that we’re communicating that across the company is really important.

And so we have those opportunities to share information. And then just staying plugged in, right? There’s a lot of great information out there and that’s a lot of my role is looking at that and staying on top of all the updates and the changes. So responding as well as being out in front. And I think we’re also in some cases trying to establish things if we can, working with title companies. And we worked on the first one project in Mississippi. And so in that case, that was an opportunity to actually work with the title company to ensure over a project for the first time. So we get those opportunities as well.

Wes Ashworth (15:57)

Yeah, love it. Love it. And I am curious as you were talking through that, do you find most are proactive and call you ahead of time and bring you in or is it more, uh-oh, something went awry, I guess I’m curious when you typically come in and then probably when you should actually come in or maybe if they were a bit more proactive.

Kimberlee Centera (16:29)

Right, you know, it can obviously be all over the map, right? I mean, you know, I think we always feel like we can do our best work if we can help people get started early. You know, the land rights are so crucial and sometimes, people just don’t know what they don’t know. In fact, a lot of the time and being able to help our clients really understand, we feel like there’s kind of, in a sense, it has its own language. Being able to kind of decipher the title companies and what they want, the ALTA surveyors, what do all these things mean? So ideally, once a project is, I would say, going through the acquisition phase or through the acquisition phase, we can support in the acquisition phase by looking at title investing and all of that.

But as the project starts to move into hiring the ALTA surveyor, picking the title company, a lot of times I think our developers underestimate the importance of these stakeholders. Especially when you’re sitting at the closing table and, you know, ALTA surveyors in some cases, you know, they’re the ones that help mitigate the risk for the title company. You know, a lot of the endorsements that are written are written on what the, you know, the surveyor is the eyes on the project. They’re the real time eyes, and so they are the ones that support that.

So, finding that surveyor that is really going to show up for you and understands what they’re committing to in the beginning because, you know, we’ve had cases where I was talking to someone the other day and we had to actually have one of our people go and sit with the ALTA surveyor, like fly them out and have them sit there for a couple of days to work with the ALTA surveyor to get the ALTA surveyor to make the changes that were needed for the bank, for the financing. And it had to happen. It wasn’t an option. And it couldn’t happen any other way than just sitting there and really walking them through what we needed to have happen. So, sometimes you have to go to those measures.

Wes Ashworth (18:31)

Right? Do whatever it takes, right? I love it. And I want to switch gears a little bit. Something I touched on in the intro there, is just your passion around mentoring and creating opportunities for women. Can you share some of the programs or strategies you’ve implemented to support women in your company and in the wider industry as a whole?

Kimberlee Centera (19:05)

Yes, and you know, I’m very, very passionate about creating opportunities for women and, you know, I’ve been very blessed in my company. But I think it’s a lot of hard work. And I had a situation that happened back in 2019 where we had a big issue at the company and it was an HR issue. It could have really turned into something really negative. And so after it was resolved, I asked myself, how can I avoid this? And I think the thing that was so tough at the time was the people that ended up with the issue.

I had met with them. I had talked to them and nothing had come up. Nothing was said. But then a few months later, all of sudden we have this blow up. I spent a lot of time as a leader thinking about, how do I get around that? How do you get around this idea that, you know, people, especially women, are not always going to come to you and tell you this doesn’t work or there’s a problem. And so what I did and decided to do was to approach it from the standpoint of values and culture. And we started implementing, we created values, and then we really operationalized those into our culture. And fast forward, two years later when we had some kind of some similar challenges, what I found was all of a sudden people were coming forward. They were coming forward because they were saying, you know what, this is not how we show up.

We said that, you know, this is our culture. We said that this is who we are and this behavior is not matching our culture. It’s not matching who we are. What I realized was the significance of making sure, and I think this is true for women, but really across all companies, is giving people the language, providing them with the pathway to know it’s okay for me. I’m not gonna be blown off, I’m not gonna be rejected because the company has laid out the framework of what’s important. I’m seeing this behavior that doesn’t match that. So it’s okay for me to go. And it was a whole different conversation because people felt empowered to be able to talk about that. And that I felt like was a significant breakthrough.

The other thing that I found, because my goal is to create a whole company of leaders and is really the intentionality behind that, Wes. The fact that as a leader, I am very intentional. I look for people to demonstrate strengths. I look for them to show me that they can be a leader. And then I will say that was great leadership. That, you know, how you showed up there, that email that you sent. I had one of my attorneys after the hurricane and, you know, unsolicited by me, a beautiful email to the team saying, we’re gonna get through this, we’re all gonna support each other, we’re a community. And I made a point of sending a written email and recognizing that person for the leadership that they demonstrated.

So, you know, I look for those traits and then we work together and I really try to go grow those. I am not a believer in focusing on weaknesses. I think we all know what our weaknesses are and we can spend the rest of our lives trying to work on those. I’m more focused on strengths. What are your strengths and how can we grow those and how can I give you opportunities to be able to grow those? But again, I think it’s very intentional and as leaders, you know, we have to, it’s not a one and done. It’s not a review conversation. It’s an ongoing conversation and encouragement and development of people to be able to help them get to that next level.

Wes Ashworth (23:02)

Yeah, I love that so much. So much there in value and what you said and just immense wisdom. I think one, the values, having those really clear and knowing this is what we’re for. This is who we are as an organization. This is what we embody. I think there’s such empowerment there. But it’s beyond that as you shared too. It’s not just about, let’s create those values once and maybe we put them on a poster and we never talk about them again. It’s, how do those show up in our daily interactions, daily lives, and then you as a leader celebrating those when you see that and calling that out, you know, just reinforces that behavior, and I think others pay attention to that as well too. And then that just, that cycle continues and in an upward positive way, which clearly created that amazing culture that you have, so I love that. That is great sound advice from a leader in business and applies everywhere.

So thinking about TerraPro, you know, again, being more female owned, largely female led company, which is unique, obviously, as we know in the industry. What has your experience been like leading an organization in the traditionally male dominated renewable energy industry? And what unique strengths do you believe women bring to this sector?

Kimberlee Centera (24:26)

Yeah, it’s very interesting in the early days of renewables when I would meet with people, you know, I don’t know if dismissive was the right word, but, you know, people weren’t really sure probably what I knew until I started to talk, and then I think it was clear, you know, that I had a deep understanding of the industry. I’ve always tried, I was fortunate to have wonderful male mentors. I think it’s really important to be collaborative and not be defensive. I would rather demonstrate that I know what I’m talking about and be collaborative and work with people. That has always really worked for me.

It has certainly been challenging, there’s times when even now, I can be sitting in a room of CEOs and I’m the only woman. And I’ll point that out to my male colleagues and they’re wonderful and supportive, but I’ll say, you realize out of the 16 of us, I’m the only woman. I think it’s very important to, as I say, not be negative. I love to learn, I appreciate and have always had coaches and people who’ve helped me to realize, you know, as leaders, we can’t have blind spots. And so I think it’s important to embrace all that. For me in the business and in the industry, I think you keep showing up, I’ve had so many times where I could have had a setback that was really devastating. And when you have that happen, you have to make a decision. It’s a decision point. You have to decide how you’re going to show up.

And, you know, even with me, once we set the values, almost as soon as we set our values, they got tested. So you have to decide, OK, how am I going to show up here? And I’ve made the decision, really the conscious decision to always show up a certain way, to be professional, to maintain who I am, even sometimes, and you know, we’re small, you know, in relation to a lot of the rest of the industry. And so, you know, we can easily be the underdog. But I think we’re also clear on who we are and what we stand for.

And that’s really, as the visionary, as the leader, I’m the keeper of the culture. I’m the keeper of really, you know, we are the best. We want to be the best. We want to create the best client experience. And the beautiful thing is that I think you attract that. You attract that when you show up that way. And even sometimes if stakeholders or people that we’re working with don’t always embody our values, we’re still gonna remain true and be who we are. And everyone on my team knows that and they know how we show up. And I think you just have to decide who you are, what your values are, even personally as a leader. And that has to be your guiding principle.

Wes Ashworth (27:03)

Yeah, I love that so much. I’ll ask this. What would you say, and I’ll jump to a question that will connect this in a moment, for women who are considering joining the field, whether they’re new graduates starting out their career, maybe industry switchers, I guess what encouragement would you offer them to join the industry?

Kimberlee Centera (27:40)

I think it’s a fabulous industry to be a part of. And I think there’s so many amazing opportunities for women, probably more so than even in other sectors, because we’re an innovative sector, right? There’s things happening and there’s so many places where you can jump in and learn. so I think that’s fabulous. Finding mentors, I think, is super important. I think sometimes women especially are afraid to ask. We think we need to get comfortable with asking. When I’m working with women that I’m mentoring, I really encourage them to ask. That’s really how I ended up on my career and the path of my career is I was willing to ask and I was also willing to take responsibility for my success.

The other thing, and I learned this later in life, and I think for younger people and younger women, build your community. Build your community around you and make it diverse. Make sure that you’re learning, that you’re willing to learn. Don’t be afraid of failure. When I started my business, I didn’t know every single step. A lot of the time I felt like I was, you know, walking in the dark. But you have to be willing to try and be resilient. And, but I think, you know, really asking, reaching out, I encourage, when I connect with women and they say, I want to be an engineer and I want to work here or there, I’ll connect them with another, maybe woman that I know who is an engineer, who’s in that field, who can guide them. And I think it’s super important. Be coachable, be willing to learn and ask questions. And it’s very important.

Wes Ashworth (29:26)

Yeah, those are so good. So many good points in there. And I love, I was reminded of this story as you were sharing that early in my career. I had a woman that was my boss at that time, I started in retail. She was my district manager. Her name’s Diana, and I owe a debt of gratitude to her. But I remember her saying to me one time and this is, I was young. I had a lot of ambition, but I didn’t know what I was doing. And she told me that she said, you know, the world belongs to askers. Don’t ever forget that. If you want something, don’t be afraid, ask. Even if it’s a no, then you follow and ask, okay, well, how do I get there? How do I overcome that? What do I need to do first? And I still have that phrase in my office today.

The world belongs to askers, because it’s such an important thing that it is important. Sometimes the answer’s gonna be no, but step out and ask and say to that mentor, hey, would you consider mentoring me? Just that simple, powerful bit of asking is so, so critical, but you shared way more than just that part, but I had to share that.

Kimberlee Centera (30:26)

Yeah, I love it, right? And it makes all the difference. When I started my business, really, that’s what I did. I wasn’t sure. And so I set up breakfast, lunch, dinner, you know, happy hour, whatever, with everyone that I knew in San Diego. And I sat down and I said, you know, here’s what I’m thinking. And, you know, what do you think? Getting feedback. And I ended up meeting with a wonderful attorney, a friend of mine, Howard Sussman, who was so amazing, supported women in renewables.

And, you know, he was so instrumental, but there were a lot of conversations like that where people love to help other people, especially that want to learn. They’re excited to do that. They’re excited to be a part of it.

Wes Ashworth (31:07)

Without a doubt, a little bit. And I love that you’ve described TerraPro Solutions as an incubator for developing leaders. And we’ve hit on a little bit of that there. How do you cultivate leadership within your team? And what have been some of the most rewarding outcomes of that approach?

Kimberlee Centera (31:29)

Yeah, that’s a great question. I think what’s really been rewarding is seeing people grow and really change over the course of time as they start to realize what they’re capable of. And I think giving people a kind of a safety net, believing in them, you know, helping them. A lot of times we don’t really see other people see things in us that we don’t necessarily see. Other people see strengths in us and having someone that can regularly make you aware of those, right? Awareness is so important. That’s really the first step.

Having someone that makes you aware of that. And I think positive feedback, you know, there’s a lot of negative out there. There’s a lot of comparisons. There’s a lot that happens to maybe bring us down, and so providing that environment where, you know, people have an opportunity to share. I’ve had people ask me in one on ones, are you okay if I tell you something? Are you okay if I say something? You know, are you okay if I hear something? The answer is always yes. I want to know. Because when people are sharing, then you’re learning too, you’re growing.

And I think being aware, as I said, of blind spots in leadership because I think in those relationships, there’s a reciprocity there. You’re each growing. You’re each learning. And that is so important. And I think as a leader, you know, not being threatened, I want to surround myself with people that are smarter than me and that can help me see things that I’m not seeing. then I think in cases where maybe leaders are afraid, you know, you’re going to do a disservice, and I was telling someone the other day that I believe that you will never, if you’re creating opportunities for someone else and they’re able to go on and realize that opportunity and I’ve had people do that. I’ve had people come to me in my business.

I think it’s the greatest compliment you can have or somebody gets an awesome opportunity and they’re going to go on and I always encourage them to go. I think it’s the right thing because that’s part of my role is to create that next great opportunity because I believe that you will not create an opportunity for someone else that won’t become an opportunity for you. So when they grow and they change, it’s an opportunity as well, for me. And again, it’s always come back for me in such a positive way. I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen Wes, is the intentionality. We as leaders, you know, and I think this has kind of always been true, but maybe not always been true for men and you know, male and female leaders is really, you know, again, it’s not just a one and done. It’s not just a single conversation and oh I can check that box because I met with that person and they should be good for the rest of the year.

It’s a regular, it’s a committed and it’s a consistent conversation. I think that’s the biggest thing that when I work with people and they ask me, you know, how can I start to create leaders? I think it’s a matter of being very intentional and working with those people that you see the potential and helping them to see the potential in themselves.

Wes Ashworth (34:57)

Yeah, this is a master class just in leadership and culture and all those kinds of things and I absolutely love it. Shifting gears a little bit just to thinking about the industry and where things are headed. So where do you see the renewable industry heading in the next decade? What are some of the trends, technological advancements that you’re most excited about?

Kimberlee Centera (35:20)

Well, you know, renewables is here to stay. I think we’re going to see some changes in terms of, you know, dynamics and you might even see kind of, in a sense, thinning of the industry, you know, and we kind of see this happen, right? Some of the things that I’m really excited about and always really impressed by is the innovation of the industry. You know, when I go to the conferences, because, you know, we’re in the weeds on the land side and we’re focusing in on making sure that we get those financings closed, because it’s all about the money on the deals. It’s wonderful to be able to see all the innovations that are happening.

And who thought there was going to be a wind project in Mississippi? I mean, there would have been a time when somebody would have said, never going to happen in the future. The other thing that I think I’m really interested in is AI. I know there’s a lot of talk around that. I think it’s something that is going to really influence what we’re doing going forward. And I think making sure that we’re using it the right way in the industry and harnessing the power of it. I would love to be able to incorporate more and more, you know, those features into our business to really enhance our client experience. I think those are some of the things that I’m really excited about and looking forward to.

Wes Ashworth (36:38)

Yeah, absolutely. And I agree. There’s no stopping it. There are going to be bumps in the road. We know that’s, I think, probably the most resilient industry there is in just adjusting and innovating and figuring out a way. And AI certainly, I heard somebody once say, AI won’t replace you, but someone that knows how to use AI might replace you. So I just think staying current, embracing new technologies is important.

You’ve emphasized, and we’ve talked a little bit about this, just the importance of relationships in your work. And how do you establish and maintain trust with your clients? Why is it so crucial for success in renewables?

Kimberlee Centera (37:16)

Renewables, first of all, is, as you I’m sure know, is a very small world. You can talk to someone, you can go to a conference and talk to someone for five or 10 minutes and you will know the same people, you will have worked on a project. You know, you were like, I didn’t know you worked on that deal. I mean, there’s some connection, right? So it’s a very close community. And I think I’ve learned that relationships matter, you know? All these years of working with landowners, giving your word, and it was always really important to me to keep that word.

I think the fact that we established a community and established relationships with people, I worked on a project where we went out, we acquired, there was over maybe about 150 parcels. We went out, acquired all these parcels. It was gung ho, everything was full go, we had everything acquired, we were done, and we got the word that the project was stalled. And so, you know how it is in renewables, it’s like, okay, we’re gonna unwind it. We unwound it, terminated all the agreements, sorry everybody, we can’t go forward. And then fast forward a year later, the market changed, things changed, it was back on.

So it was like, go out there and secure all these properties again. And we had dealt with everyone fairly. We were transparent, we were truthful. And so when we went out to sign everyone, we said, look, hey, great news, back on. We wanna get you guys signed back up. Let’s get it all back together. We got it all back together and eventually all that land was developed and there was a series of five projects that were developed working off of that. So the importance of those relationships and how you show up for people, I always felt like when I go into a closing, that cooperation is going to be critically important. I need those landowners to believe and trust me and know that I try to keep my word as much as I can, and that has always served us.

And I think I’ve worked on transactions, super difficult, and sometimes that relationship is what holds it together. I’ve had to get on the phone with the title company or with the ALTA surveyor And I had one project in particular, the closing was so difficult. We had three tiers of financing. We had like 27 different lender parties, you know, we had a lead lender, but we had these 27 different parties and most of them were working consortium, but we had a couple of outliers that were dictating some of the things. So we were, you know, it got down to, okay, you want another comma here? We’ll do it. You want some periods over there? We’ll do it. You know, and then every time you’re doing that, it changes everything. And people were ready to pull their hair out. And I had to really rely upon my relationship with them to call them and say, look, we’re going to get there, we’re going to get this done, you’ve got to hang in there with me, we’re like on the one yard line, you know, we’ve got to get it in, right?

But that’s where those relationships are important. And I can’t tell you how many times in renewables things come back around. And so I think really those relationships and really prioritizing those has always been really important.

Wes Ashworth (40:31)

Yeah, I agree. It’s everything, right? And I think the difference maker a lot of times in like, moderate success versus exceptional success, those relationships really, when the going gets tough, when things don’t go as planned, that’s when it matters, you know? And I think even as you’ve sent leaders out to the industry, you know, there’s times where you can make a call and get some advice, get some counsel, you know, get some support from, and I think people often know that but don’t put enough significance in terms of how important that is, so yeah, that’s exceptional.

So parting questions here, when you look back at your career, the influence you’ve had on the industry and people, what do you hope your legacy will be, both as a leader and as a mentor?

Kimberlee Centera (41:22)

I would really be thrilled to have my legacy be the encouragement, the inspiration for women, especially the women that are coming up. I want people to have hope. I want them to be excited. I want them to be inspired. I want them to know that even if you don’t have the perfect plan, you can set your destiny. You can create something that’s bigger than yourself. And I think that would be something that I would be the most proud of.

I love talking to women. I really love talking to women around the world because it’s very small. I talk to women in India, engineers in India. I talk to women in Brazil. I have a mentee in Brazil right now and she could be in the US with all the challenges that she’s encountering. And so if I can use what I’ve learned to help encourage those women to be able to see a vision. The one woman I’m talking to, she wants to create her own network within her company to be able to keep women there, to keep, she said, I don’t want to lose any more women. And I think that’s beautiful. And if I can contribute to that, if I can give her some encouragement and some real life tools, if I can share with her what I’ve learned that I think works, then she can go on to create that community that I think I would treasure.

That is really what I would love to be able to leave behind.

Wes Ashworth (42:52)

So powerful and so good. And I’ve shared with you before as a girl dad how important it is and how appreciative I am that people like you are out in the world, mentoring our next women leaders in the industry and beyond is so important. it’s such gratifying work, I’m sure for you. But thank you so much for what you’re doing there and putting it out to the world and helping it just become a better place, you know, and we’re better the more collective we are, the more diverse we are to having, you know, different trains of thought. And yeah, so can’t say enough there, but thank you for all of that.

So with that, we’ll wrap up our conversation with Kimberlee Centera, CEO of TerraPro Solutions. Kimberlee, thank you for sharing your inspiring journey, your insights on risk management and your vision for a more diverse and innovative renewable energy future.

To our listeners, as always, thank you for tuning in to Green Giants, Titans of Renewable Energy. If you enjoyed this episode, I don’t know how you couldn’t, be sure to subscribe, share it with your network, and join us next time as we continue to spotlight the leaders driving the clean energy revolution. We’ll see you soon.