CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, is looking to halve its carbon emissions from electricity with the signing of a 10-year renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) with ZEN Energy.
CSIRO Director of Business and Infrastructure Services, Dave Agnew, said the agreement – the largest of its type in place for a Commonwealth Government agency – will see 26 CSIRO-managed research sites in ACT, NSW, and Victoria source renewable power from two regional solar farms.
“This is a very significant step towards being net-zero in our operations, and is in line with our broader remit to help Australia navigate to a low emissions future,” Mr Agnew said.
“As a world leader in sustainability research, CSIRO is committed to innovative science and technology that reduces emissions and global climate change impacts.”
The new PPA follows CSIRO’s recent completion of a solar photovoltaic (PV) roll-out across 10 sites nationally, which have the capacity to generate more than five megawatts of renewable energy and reduce the organisation’s carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions by around 5900 tonnes each year.
Mr Agnew said that in n addition to entering into a commercial PPA, CSIRO and ZEN are exploring opportunities to undertake collaborative renewable energy science projects.
“As a world leader in sustainability research, CSIRO is committed to innovative science and technology that reduces emissions and global climate change impacts,” he continued.
“We aspire to be an organisation that promotes and demonstrates sustainable operations and practices that are consistent with our science and innovation impact.
