New CEO appointed for ARENA

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As officially announced today, Darren Miller will begin his three year term at the helm of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on August 27.

The appointment was announced by Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg.

“Mr Miller has 25 years of professional experience across range of sectors including chief executive positions and investment advisory roles,“ Minister Frydenberg said in a statement.

“His experience in the renewable energy and electricity retail sectors as well as in start-up companies aligns well with ARENA’s development of local renewable energy technology.”

Darren Miller was co-founder and CEO of Mojo Power, an innovative electricity retailer, from 2015 until July 2018. He was previously the Director of Asset Finance at Sungevity Australia in 2014, and co-founder and CEO of Sumwise, a technology and services company from 2007 to 2013.

He has held roles as investment manager for Publish and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) and Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH) from 1999 until 2006. A Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), Miller also previously worked at New Zealand Natural and Ernst & Young.

Miller will take over the role from Ivor Frischknecht, who oversaw 370 projects that have leveraged $2.8 billion of investment through his six-years at the ARENA helm.

In his interview with pv magazine Australia, Frischknecht reflected on his tenure, pointing to the role the agency has placed in bringing down the costs of large scale solar in Australia as ARENA’s greatest achievement.

He advised the Energy Minister and the ARENA Board of his intention not to seek a third term as CEO of ARENA in February this year.

“Mr Frischknecht has helped to make ARENA a success by utilizing his expertise in energy, innovation and early stage investment“, Minister Frydenberg said.

“Under his guidance, ARENA has developed a clear set of priority investment areas consistent with the Turnbull Government’s emphasis on affordable and reliable energy.“

“I thank Mr Frischknecht for the significant contribution he has made in helping the Government to deliver a more affordable and reliable energy system and I look forward to working with Mr Miller over the coming years.”

ARENA was established by the Australian Government in 2012 as an independent authority to help Australia’s shift to reliable and affordable renewable energy future. Since then, ARENA has committed almost $1.2 billion towards more than 370 projects with a total project value of almost $4 billion.

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