CSIRO's Newcastle Energy Centre will be a demonstration site for the national science agency's net zero emissions targets.
CSIRO is aiming to achieve net zero emissions for the Newcastle Energy Centre by 2025, all of CSIRO by 2030 and all of its indirect emissions and value chains by 2050.
Initiatives that will drive down emissions include the conversion of gas systems to electric, electrification of the vehicle fleet, additional onsite renewable energy generation, optimised control of onsite energy storage and the uptake of clean energy power purchasing.
CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said CSIRO was uniquely positioned to use breakthrough science to develop, implement and demonstrate effective pathways to net zero emissions.
"As a large 100 year old organisation spread across 55 sites nationally, CSIRO has many challenges to emissions reduction, but we believe if we can do it, it will inspire other large companies to leverage Australian science to travel the path to net zero emissions," Dr Marshall said.
"CSIRO is in a strong position to make science real, by translating it straight from our established energy lab and into our operations, while also directly assisting our industry partners to work towards their own net zero emission ambitions.
CSIRO Newcastle site leader Gregory Wilson said the Newcastle Energy Centre was ideally placed to lead the way for CSIRO.
"Our Newcastle Energy Centre has an established track record for developing and evaluating new ways to drive energy efficiency, generate renewable energy, store energy and reduce emissions. It is also home to the largest solar thermal array of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere," Dr Wilson said.
"We have the opportunity to take the best of our science and testing and apply it across our site which already features 425 kilowatts of solar and wind energy infrastructure and 600 kilowatt hours of battery storage.
The energy targets are part of a broader sustainability refresh for CSIRO, which brings together plans to reduce its environmental footprint and initiatives focussed on organisational culture, gender equity, responsible purchasing and sustainable property strategies.
