ARENA To Look For New CEO

• The Australian Renewable Energy Agency's (ARENA) CEO, Ivor Frischknecht, will not be seeking reappointment once his second tenure comes to an end in August 2018
• He is leaving the organization to spend more time with his family, he informed the minister for the environment and energy and ARENA's board
• Until ARENA finds a successor, Frischknecht will continue to hold office

Ivor Frischknecht, the CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), has decided not to go in for a third term. He will continue to remain the head of ARENA until the end of August 2018. Following that, he will not seek reappointment. He is leaving to spend more time with his family, outlined an online statement from ARENA.

Frischknecht has held the role of CEO since ARENA was established in 2012. Under his administration, ARENA has been able to support 300 renewable energy projects.

"ARENA has more than $550 million AUD ($426.7 million) of funding remaining to invest over the next 4 years, so there is a lot of work still to be done, but we have the best team on the job and a clear plan for future investments," said Frischknecht.

Frischknecht has informed the minister for the environment and energy and ARENA's board of his decision. ARENA will now start its search for a successor. Until one is found, Frischknecht will remain in office.

Very recently, Australia connected its first large-scale solar and battery storage system to the grid, a project that was funded by ARENA (see First Australian Large-Scale PV+Storage Project).