Release by Scatec Business Developer Pushing the Boundaries for how clean energy is delivered

Graduated as a Chemical Engineer but pushing boundaries at Release as a Business Developer, Emile Nauta shares the journey that led him to Release (Renewable Energy Leasing).

Growing up Emile knew the path he wanted to take and that was being a qualified Engineer. “Studying Chemical Engineering was all I had considered in high school, and it’s not the kind of field that parents tend to question very hard,” says Emile.

After completing his university studies, Emile realised that he did not want to pursue a career in engineering but would prefer to grow his expertise on the business side as a Developer. His pivot came just at the right time where the renewable energy industry was picking up in South Africa. “The Scatec name was held in very high regard by my peers in the renewables space – I jumped at the opportunity to join the team,” he says.

Emile joined Scatec back in 2019 as a Graduate in the Business Development space. This was the year Scatec launched their first-ever Graduate Programme and coincided with the inception of the Release concept.

After successful completion of the Graduate Programme, he formally took up a position as a Release Business Developer focused on mining and C&I. Emile shared that for him it wasn’t necessarily the industry that drew him to his role, “I will be honest, at the time I joined Scatec, I didn’t fully trust renewables. It was only after a year of working in the sector that I came to understand the obvious perks of having cheap and quickly deployable solar PV in one’s energy mix,” he said.

When he is not sourcing leads and developing projects, you will find Emile outdoors focused on his flowers. “I enjoy cultivating things.” Emile grows peonies, and when they are in season, makes sure to bring some arrangements to pretty up the Scatec offices.

When asked about what drives him about his line of work and Release in general, Emile answered that it’s mainly the socioeconomic impact of electrifying rural communities, as well as the millions of dollars that mines save with such a simple, elegant, and risk-free solution. “Deploying our Release solution just frees up capital all-round.”

The work that Release has done in Cameroon is Emile’s biggest highlight at Release, “Seeing the impact that solar power plants and battery storage had on the people since they were installed was phenomenal to witness.” A year after the installation of the two 19MW PV + 10MWh BESS plants, a local news publication shared that the region where the plants are installed hadn’t experienced any more power outages post installation.

Release takes CAPEX-intensive solar PV and battery storage and offers them on a flexible lease basis. We push CAPEX to OPEX without the guarantee requirements that come with a long-term PPA. The Release concept combines EPC with continuous power plant supervision under a flexible, modular, and scalable leasing agreement. Release PV and BESS units are pre-assembled and standardized for easy site installation & commissioning. We guarantee performance over the project life.  Emile emphasized, “It’s not only an attractive solution: for most mines in Africa, ours is the only solution that does not require years of development and reaching financial close.”