360-degree virtual tours

[Music plays and the CSIRO logo appears]

[Image appears of an external view of the CSIRO’s Energy Centre]

Narrator:  Welcome to the CSIRO’s Energy Centre in Newcastle, home to our leading renewable energy research.

[Image appears inset of an aerial view of the CSIRO’s Energy Centre]

Below these rooftops our world class testing facilities are being used to help develop clean and affordable energy.

[Image appears of a sign and text appears on the sign: Energy on site, 300 kW of solar photovoltaics, 1 megawatt hour of battery storage, 5 kW of wind generation]

We have almost 300 kilowatts of solar photovoltaics, one megawatt hour of battery storage and five kilowatts of wind generation.

[Music plays and image changes to show a blue screen and CSIRO logo and text appears: Renewable Energy Integration Facility]

[Image changes to show an interior view of the Renewable Energy Integration Facility]

The Renewable Energy Integration Facility or REIF for short is where we can demonstrate how electricity networks will work in the future and how renewable technologies can be integrated into the grid to meet Australia’s energy needs.

[Image changes to show two people seated at laptops in a control room looking out on the REIF Facility and a sign appears on the left-hand side displaying different types of electricity]

We can set up smaller versions of the electricity grid using real world conditions to test the impact of solar and different energy storage options like batteries and how these technologies can be controlled to create the most benefit.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the distribution board inside the REIF Facility and text appears: Distribution board]

At the distribution board, we can disconnect the REIF from the grid and connect to different onsite power sources like solar.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a male opening the doors of the Power grid simulator inside the REIF Facility and a sign appears on the right-hand side: Power grid simulator]

The power grid simulator lets us represent and study the characteristics of different power systems.

[Image shows the male closing the doors of the power grid simulator and then walking towards the left of the power grid simulator and opening and closing another door on the power grid simulator]

This is important as different grids have different characteristics.  For example, the grid in outback New South Wales is very different from the grid in the Sydney CBD.

[Music plays and a sign appears on the right-hand side of the power grid simulator: Solar simulators]

We have solar simulators too.

[Image shows the male walking around the power grid simulator to look at the solar simulator]

So, we can run repeatable tests and mimic the conditions of a sunny day even if it’s pouring with rain.

[Music plays and the image shows the male walking towards the left of the screen and then the image changes to show the inverters inside the REIF Facility and a sign appears: Inverters]

The inverters in the REIF can supply up to 70 kilowatts of solar power to be used on site or exported back to the grid.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the gas fired micro turbines inside the REIF Facility and a sign appears: Gas microturbines]

Our gas fired micro turbines use natural gas to produce electricity.

[Image shows a male walking towards the gas fired microturbines]

The waste heat can be used for other applications.

[Image shows the male opening the control board on the gas microturbine and operating the controls and then the image shows the male moving towards to right and opening a door on the load bank]

This micro turbine can generate 30 kilowatts of power supplying power and voltage just as the grid does.  We can change how it does this to simulate problems or to represent grids from other countries around the world.

[Text appears on a sign: Load bank]

Using the load bank, we can represent different energy loads.

[Image shows the male closing the load bank door and walking to the left]

We can measure the load of a residential or commercial building and programme this into the load bank to run tests using different technology mixes.

[Music plays and then a sign appears on the left of the screen displaying a diagram of a sun, solar panels and a grid symbol and text appears: 90%, 10%]

For example, we can find out how a building would perform using 90% solar all without the cost and disruption of testing this in the real world.  

[Image changes to show two people seated at laptops in the control room looking out over the Facility and a sign appears on the left with a heading: REIF control room]
 
Back in the control room we can see all of the energy data come alive and monitor how alternative energy sources can be combined to provide a stable electricity supply.  The REIF is available to industry and Researchers to collaborate with us.

[Music plays and image changes to show a blue screen and CSIRO logo and text appears: Stored Energy Integration Facility]

[Image changes to show a back view of a male working in the distance inside the Stored Energy Integration Facility]

Our Stored Energy Integration Facility also known as the SEIF is a real-world example of commercial energy storage.

[Camera gradually zooms in on the SEIF Facility and a sign appears in the centre of the screen: Total SEIF Battery Storage]

Just one way we’re researching better ways to use and store energy.  We have nearly one megawatt hour of storage which is about 100 times the capacity of a residential storage system.

[Camera zooms in on a back view of a male working at a desk near a bank of ultra-batteries and a sign appears on the right of the bank of batteries: Ultra Battery]

We have different batteries on site like the ultra-battery, one of our own inventions, as well as lithium ion and lead acid batteries.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a male working at a desk to the right of a yellow inverter and a sign appears on the right of the inverter with a heading: Inverters]

We use stored energy during peak times to manage our electricity demand or shift energy from one period to another.  This helps reduce our demand on the grid and reduces our costs.  We typically discharge the batteries in the afternoon as this is when energy demand on site and the price of electricity is highest.  We also use the batteries to increase the reliability of our solar energy, such as when cloud cover affects our energy output.

[Image changes to show the data screen in the SEIF Facility and a sign appears next to the screen with a heading: Monitoring our energy use]

The data screen tells us a lot

[Image shows a male getting up from his desk on the left rear of the screen and walking around to look at the data screen and take notes]

such as how much electricity we are using and how much we are generating from renewable sources like the solar PV panels on the roof.  It also tells us how much energy has been stored or supplied from the battery.

[Image changes to show an interior view of batteries in the SEIF Facility and a sign appears in the centre of the screen with a heading: Battery expertise]

The SEIF is available to Government and industry to answer key questions like “Which battery technology is best to use for which application?”, “What’s the best way to control this energy storage?” and “How long will these batteries last?”.

[Image changes to show a male walking out of a door inside the SEIF Facility and moving towards the left and sitting at his desk]

And by testing new technologies on our own site we know first-hand how they work.

[Image changes to show a shipping container outside of the SEIF Facility and a sign appears on the right-hand side of the shipping container with a heading: Lithium-ion batteries]

The SEIF includes testing of a lithium ion battery system housed in a six-metre shipping container.  Lithium batteries are a popular and well-known energy storage technology

[Image changes to show a bank of lithium-ion batteries and a sign appears to the left of the batteries with a heading: Lithium-ion testing]

and can be used for an exciting range of applications like electric vehicles and solar energy storage in your home.  You’ll also find them in many small devices such as laptops and mobile phones.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the power conversion system outside at the SEIF Facility and a sign appears on the left of the Power Conversion System with a sign headed: Power Conversion System]

The lithium ion technology expands the range of batteries we have on site as part of our SEIF research.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a blue screen and CSIRO logo and text appears on the screen: Controlled Climate Test Facility]

[Image changes to show a view of the Controlled Climate Test Facility and the camera gradually pans around the facility to show a male seated at a desk]

In Australia air conditioning and refrigeration consumes over 20% of all produced electricity and is responsible for around 50% of peak demand on the electricity system.

[Image changes to show the Test Bench area of the Controlled Climate Test Facility with silver ducting throughout the room and the camera zooms gradually in on the ducting and then a male appears on the right-hand side of the room and a sign appears on the left with a heading: Test bench]

Our controlled climate test facility tests the performance of air conditioning components under different climatic conditions to help improve the energy efficiency of residential and commercial air conditioning systems.

[Image shows the male looking at equipment on the Test bench and then walking to the back of the room]

This includes testing commercial evaporative coolers, heat exchanges and desiccant wheels to determine how they perform in a range of climatic conditions as well as new break-through components we have developed.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a male walking towards two silver ducts in the centre of a room and a sign appear on the ducts: Hot & dry air, Hot & Humid air]

These silver ducts are where two separate air streams are created, hot or cold or humid or dry.

[Image shows the male walking towards the back of the room and a sign appears above his head with a text heading: Temperature control]

We can set a range from 0 to 90° C and 10 to 95% humidity

[Camera gradually zooms in on the back of the room to show the male working on the equipment]

to mimic real conditions from across the globe such as hot and dry like you would find in the Sahara Desert or hot and humid like you would find in Darwin.  Why do we do this?

[Image changes to show another view of the silver ducting]

Because we can push different technologies to the limit to see what works best and how to make improvements to help reduce energy use and costs.

[Image changes to show a view of a male seated at a desk in the Controlled Climate Test Facility]

Our innovation isn’t just happening in a lab.

[Image appears of a sign inset showing the Education Building and the Stockland Shopping Centre]

It’s in the real world too including an Education Building at Hamilton TAFE in New South Wales and Stockland Shopping Centre in Ballarat Victoria.  We’re continuing to work with our partners both locally and globally to help deliver a lower emissions future.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a blue screen and CSIRO logo and text appears: National Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) Performance Test Facility]

[Image changes to show an outside view of the National Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning Performance Test Facility and a sign appears to the left of the building: HVAC testing]

Our National Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, HVAC Performance Test Facility may not have a jazzy name but it performs some impressive research to evaluate conventional and solar powered air conditioning systems.

[Image changes to show an interior view of the building and the camera pans around the HVAC Facility and a sign appears above a desk: Air conditioning testing]

Inside we have two test rooms that can mimic conditions around the world to examine how well air conditioning systems perform.

[Camera continues to pan around the HVAC Facility]

Specifically, how well they work and how much energy they use.

[Image changes to show a test area of the HVAC Facility and a sign appears above a door with a heading: Indoor simulation]

This information can be used by consumers and Government or by industries to understand and improve product performance.

[Image changes to show another test area of the HVAC Facility and a sign appears above a door with a heading: Outdoor simulation]

 The system under test can be powered by different solar, thermal and photovoltaic panels on the roof or electricity from the grid.

[Image changes to show an outside view of the solar dish collectors for the HVAC Facility and a sign appears to the right of a solar dish collector with a heading: Solar dish collectors]

We also have solar dish collectors that concentrate the heat from the sun at temperatures up to 500° Celsius, store it and use it to power thermally driven chillers.

[A sign appears next to the heat storage tank to the left of the solar dish collector with a heading: Heat storage tank]

By testing these systems in a real-world environment, we can evaluate performance before the technology is used in the field.

[Music plays and inset aerial view of the HVAC facility appears]

This provides our partners with the confidence and expertise to identify which technologies are best for different applications and how to reduce system costs.

[Music plays and the image changes to show an outside view of the CSIRO Energy Centre]

At the CSIRO Energy Centre,

[Image appears of an aerial view of the CSIRO Energy Centre inset and the inset picture rotates in a clockwise direction]

we are leading the way in energy efficiency and electricity grid integration technologies.  We are playing a critical role in helping to ensure all Australians have access to clean and reliable energy now and long into the future.  Our facilities are available to industry such as manufacturers and energy suppliers, as well as Government and international partners for collaboration and to help deliver solutions to our future energy challenges.

[Music plays and text appears: www.csiro.au/energy]

[CSIRO logo and text appears: Australia’s innovation catalyst]