In each edition of The Solar Report, we spotlight one of our valued Platinum Business Members through an exclusive interview. In this issue, TXSES Communications Director Tamara Kowalski connected with new Platinum members Atmos Financial and co-founder and CEO Ravi Mikkelsen, to explore the company’s mission, goals, and the impact of its work on solar customers.
Company & Mission
What is Atmos’s founding story?
I’ve been in climate and clean energy for over two decades. I had an epiphany at my freshman orientation at the University of Washington where I realized that my mission in life was to help the world transition off of fossil fuels. I became a materials engineer doing research into hydrogen fuel cells and PV cells back then, and started a biodiesel company after graduation. After shutting down this project, I started working as a researcher at a private equity firm – learning firsthand how they would say “no” to financing great projects solely based on investment criteria.
Fast forward to late 2018, the IPCC released a report that essentially said, if we want to stay below one and a half degrees centigrade, we need to spend $6 trillion per year between 2016 and 2050. I asked myself “Who’s got that much money?” It’s the global banking sector. So I started working on this in 2019 and shortly after, I met my co-founder, Pete, who worked as a banker financing renewable energy projects.
FAST FACTS:
- Business Completed: $80mn+ in projects financed
- Service Area: All 50 states
- Contact: www.joinatmos.com
or email: anders@joinatmos.com
We wondered how do you get banks to move faster and at the same time also give people the power to have an impact on climate change with their deposits. We’re not trying to become the biggest “bank” in the world and finance the entire transition ourselves. Instead, we want to help 1,000 banks, or even 10,000 banks to shift a portion of their portfolio to funding the transition, and in so doing, we’ll have a much larger impact, sooner. Read more here.
What is the company’s mission, and how does it show up in your daily work?
Atmos Financial makes slow capital fast. We turn consumer protective capital from credit unions, banks, green banks, and government agencies into instant loans for homeowners and very fast loans for small businesses for solar and electrification projects.
Work & Expertise
What services do you offer, and what sets your company apart?
Solar, storage, HVAC, and home electrification loans originated from credit unions, community banks and CDFIs on an easy to use platform for contractors and borrowers.
What misconceptions do you want to dispel?
That solar has to be expensive or hard to pay for! Atmos financial pairs low cost, transparent loans with low market rates to help customers go solar. Atmos also offers a soft instant prequalification, which helps customers understand their options without doing a hard credit check at the beginning of the finance process.
Texas Solar Landscape
What are you seeing in the Texas solar market right now?
We are seeing a lot of installers sell battery add ons to pre-existing solar systems. We have a loan to support this!
What challenges or opportunities do you think are most important for the industry in Texas?
Far too many customers are stuck with solar systems nobody’s supporting anymore. That’s exactly why we love working alongside installers who genuinely care about their customers, and who care about raising the bar across the solar industry. When you partner with Atmos Financial, you get more than loan products, you get a partner who listens, and who builds tools around what installers actually need to sell solar successfully.
What advice would you give to someone considering solar for their home or business?
Research the financing options as much as the contractor and be sure to get quotes for multiple options.
Why Solar & Why TXSES
What do you enjoy most about working in solar/clean energy?
It’s always the people: the homeowners, the contractors, the manufacturers, the industry groups….etc. They are all working together on a common vision for our clean energy future.
Why did you choose to become a TXSES Business Member?
Industry groups pushing forward the local industry are where the current market came from and where the future market will be constructed. Atmos Financial is excited to join TXSES and help push the industry forward.
Looking Ahead
What’s next for your company in the coming year?
Atmos Financial is expanding in every way by adding more financial partners, more installer partners, more products and more tech partners.