Winds of Change - Spring 2017 - 29

sells wind energy to utilities in
rural areas. She imagines with
the electricity powered by wind
energy, students are now able to
study at night because the
household has lights.
She does all this from her
office in Juno Beach, Fla. "But
I'm out west quite a bit," Hale
says, noting that she's already
logged 25,000 miles as of March
this year. "I'm primarily a
project champion, task organizer, and translator," she adds.
"I develop our time lines for
completing projects, rally
necessary resources, ensure
everyone on our team is
working toward a common
vision, and champion my
projects both internally and to
our customers. No two days are
the same."
Hale says she spends her time
talking to elected officials about
energy policies and zoning,

answering landowners' questions about how projects will
integrate with their agricultural
activities, talking to environmental organizations about
wildlife, marketing products to
utilities, and studying the
transmission grid. Her job is to
convey the same message to
professionals like electrical and
civil engineers, zoning officials,
and wildlife conservationists.
"They speak different languages
even though we're all in energy,"
she explains. "It's not just
translating. It's public speaking
on a variety of levels."
A self-described introvert,
Hale had to overcome her
shyness. For that she fell back
on one of her core beliefs. "I'm a
firm believer that most people
are good. They don't want you
to fail." She credits her mentors
for reinforcing that belief, and
today she also mentors students

and encourages them to "just
ask for help."
Hale is motivated by her
firsthand knowledge of how
important access to electricity is
to people in rural areas.
"Ensuring that affordable
electricity is available to all
members of our society is vital to
ensuring equal opportunity," she
points out. "Powering the
nation's schools and hospitals
and senior centers through clean
technologies that preserve our
environment for my nieces and
nephews and their future
children is incredibly rewarding."
That idea of sustainability
goes back to her Hopi teachings
- making sure there are
resources left for the future
generations. "A lot of my job is
theoretical," Hale says. "I work
with reports, schedules, and
eventually if all aligns right, it
turns into a wind project."

She was able to visit one
of her projects when it was
operational in Limon, Colo.
"Visiting a wind project that I
had helped build was a really
rewarding experience," she says.
"I talked to ranchers and
farmers and saw how it helped
them expand, and I talked to
local officials about the taxes
our project pays into the
county."
For Hale, delivering on the
promise of wind power is part
of both her company's core
values and her own. "The
NextEra Energy values line up
exactly with the values I was
taught growing up: Be committed to excellence, do the right
thing, and treat people with
respect," she says. "We believe
that how you do something is
just as important as what you
accomplish."
- Patty Talahongva

Tricia Hale

NextEra Energy Wind Development

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Winds of Change - Spring 2017

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