ARENA's operating surplus for the year was $16.8 million.

ARENA had another busy year and exceeded its 2018-19 project approval target of $280 million. Several projects under negotiation or in the approval process during 2018-19 took longer than expected to reach financial close, which is reflected in the reduction in grant expenses in 2018-19 compared to budget and previous years.

Administration expenses in 2018-19 were in line with the previous year. Part of the administration expenses was funded by the Portfolio Department through the secondment of departmental staff to ARENA. This funding is included in the table below as ‘Resources received free of charge’.

No new investments in the Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund other than for management fees were made in the year. A loss of $2.4 million in fair value of the investments is reported in the Other Comprehensive Income section.

ARENA is retaining cash returned from grants and investing them in term deposits in accordance with the ARENA Act. The cash reserve is intended to be used to fund operating expenses after 2021-22 when legislated funding ceases.

Further information is provided in the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.