The federal government has reappointed Darren Miller as chief executive officer of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) for a further three years.
Miller has led ARENA from 2018. Under his leadership, ARENA has undertaken an increasingly prominent role in energy innovation, supporting projects related to storage technologies, electric vehicles, distributed energy and hydrogen.
ARENA will continue to benefit from Miller’s expertise as it works towards delivering the government’s Technology Investment Roadmap priorities.
His reappointment will commence on 27 August 2021 and run until 26 August 2024.
The government has also appointed Stephen McIntosh to the ARENA Board for a two-year term. McIntosh is a former Rio Tinto group executive with experience in green metals, wind, solar and batteries. He has also worked across hydrogen and carbon capture technologies. Stephanie Unwin has also been reappointed to the Board for a further two years.
These two appointments will benefit the Board with their expertise in renewable energy, technology, commercialisation, business investment and corporate governance.
The ARENA Board sets the investment strategies and priorities, oversees the running of the agency, and approves funding for projects up to $50 million.
Departing Board member Dougal McOmish has also been thanked for his service to the Board, ARENA and Australia’s renewable energy sector overall.
Under these appointments, ARENA will help progress the development of new and emerging energy technologies. Bringing a portfolio of technologies to commercial parity with higher emitting alternatives will help reduce emissions, while protecting industries and jobs and creating new ones.
ARENA was established in 2012 to improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies in Australia. Since then, ARENA has supported 586 projects with $1.7 billion in grant funding, unlocking $6.92 billion of total investment in renewable energy. Through the 2020-21 Budget, the federal government increased ARENA’s funding by $1.6 billion.