One on One: Terri Mickelsen, CEO of Clean Energy Credit Union

BizWest asked Terri Mickelsen, the CEO of the new Clean Energy Credit Union, to talk about the creation of a new credit union dedicated to advancing the clean energy industry in the state and nation. Mickelsen has more than 25 years of credit union operations experience, including over 10 years focused on customer service via branches, phone centers, and online/mobile devices. Prior to her new role at Clean Energy Federal Credit Union, she served as COO and VP of internal operations at two credit unions, each with more than $500 million in assets.

BizWest: We see you have credit union experience. How does this situation compare and contrast to what you’ve done before?

Terri Mickelsen: Wow, I don’t know if I can really compare this to anything I have done before. I feel that my previous experience working with electronic service delivery systems (online banking, call centers, mobile banking and payment systems) gave me the background but it is really different with a start-up credit union. Nothing could have prepared me for starting a new financial institution. You take for granted having systems in place (with an existing credit union) and you may work on improving something or bringing in a new product or service but never doing everything from scratch. With that said, what is exciting is that you are building from ground up; there are not many opportunities like this. I feel very fortunate to have been chosen to work here.

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BW: What is the mission of the Clean Energy Credit Union and how do you see it unfolding?

TM: Our mission is to “promote clean energy, environmental stewardship, and cooperative enterprises through the financial services we provide to our members.”  This credit union was founded on the idea that we want to help accelerate the adoption of clean energy by having affordable loans and products that are strictly tailored for clean energy products. I see us moving slow at first until we have all of our systems and processes in place. Then we work on expanding our services to our members and look for more areas where we can help out. We have a group of individuals who have organized this and some of them are pioneers. They know what is needed and what is missing for the solar and clean energy industry and they saw a void there for financing. Things are moving but we have to crawl before we can walk. We’re being methodical about it.

BW: Are there limitations on the range of businesses that the credit union can can conduct? For example, are loans restricted to clean energy projects?

TM: For the most part, yes, we are focusing on the financing of clean energy products, however, we will have some signature loans that members may or may not use for clean energy products. We want to stay true to our vision.

BW: What are your financial targets in terms of deposits and loans? How many members do you expect to have in a year or in five years?

TM:  We put our business plan together and tried to stay conservative. We hope to have 1,500 members and $12 million in assets in five years. When a bank starts up, it has investors who come in and give you capital. Our organizing committee had to go out and receive donations from individuals and foundations.We are in the process of starting on deposits, which are needed before we can issue loans. Savings accounts and longer term CDs are desired so we can issue longer term loans.

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BW: What impact do you think the credit union will have on clean energy installations in the region?

TM: We’re limited (by federal regulations) for the first few years of business to lending just to consumers. We have to prove that we know what we’re doing, and then we can expand what we do. We hope to educate the lending industry, too, in order to bring other financial institutions into this market. We want this to be competitive. There’s a lot of need out there for this type of financing. I’ve gotten calls from as far away as Puerto Rico. We’re nationally chartered but we expect that initially most of our business will be in Boulder County and Colorado.

BW: What else sets you apart?

TM: There are other financial institutions out there who focus on green industries, but we’re the only one that I know of that is focused on clean energy. The Clean Energy Credit Union will also operate only virtually or digitally; there won’t be branches around the state or country. I’m working out of shared (co-working) space. We may open a pop-up branch or have a temporary presence at an energy company, but that would not be permanent. If we keep our costs down, we can make lending reasonable and affordable for our members. I don’t have stockholders. What we’ll do is to make things affordable for members.