The impact of energy developments on air quality, land and water are significant. CSIRO monitors and mitigates these impacts, paving the way for an environmentally sustainable energy future.

The Energy Group aims to develop and apply leading-edge energy research that meets Australian needs.

1973 was the year that Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon and Are You Being Served? made its television debut. It was long before the words “climate change” became headline news. It was also the year that CSIRO’s Sustainable Energy Advisor, Dr John Wright – who is retiring next week – joined the organisation as a research scientist in the Sydney laboratories of the then Division of Mineral Chemistry.

Wide-scale adoption of low-emission distributed energy could reduce the cost of transitioning to a low-carbon future by as much a $130 billion by 2050, according to a new report released today by CSIRO.

The theme of the International Mineral Processing Congress (IMPC) 2010 is 'Smarter Processing for the Future' and will feature the best in leading edge research and development.

This symposium brings together national and international experts to explore how research and policy can contribute to the development of new sustainable crops for new bioindustries.

The hunt for an alternative fuel source on remote King Island led researchers to develop a solution which met fuel requirements and addressed a waste cardboard issue. 

The Integrated Rankine Cycle project provides a method for producing solar thermal renewable electricity and for enhancing the efficiency of current and future fossil fuel distributed generation.  Consequently it provides a number of pathways toward greenhouse gas reduction.

CSIRO researchers have developed a way keep you cool in summer, warm in winter and reduce greenhouse gas emissions – all with a single technology.

We use the Energy Sector Model to determine the impact of potential future events, policies and technology breakthroughs on the uptake of new technologies in electricity generation and transport.

Take a tour of CSIRO’s state-of-the-art Energy Centre and see why it sets the benchmark in ecologically sustainable design. (11:33)

New plastics developed by CSIRO, Hanyang University Korea and the University of Texas have the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and help purify water and CSIRO research leader Dr Anita Hill discusses this research in this vodcast. (2:20)

Dr Daniel Roberts is delivering research outcomes that underpin emerging gasification technologies that have the potential to provide low emission electricity generation for the future.

Ms Sonja Heyenga undertakes research into natural resource management with a focus on the development of decision support tools for policy design and planning.

The CSIRO report The greenhouse and air quality emissions of biodiesel blends in Australia concludes that using pure biodiesel or blending biodiesel with standard fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. (126 pages)

A report detailing the results from a Perth workshop on public perspectives towards climate change and energy technologies. (78 pages)

CSIRO is researching the impact and benefits of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the electricity network, and how this low emission transport option could be integrated into our homes and cities in the future. (2 pages)

A fact sheet on the occurrence of fluorine in Australian and other coals, the behaviour of fluorine during combustion and the environmental effects of fluorine released as a consequence of coal use.