Synergy Reforestation Project

The Synergy Reforestation Project is a large-scale farm forestry and carbon sequestration initiative distributed across the agricultural regions of Western Australia. Rather than occupying a single contiguous block, the project spans approximately 6,700 hectares across the Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions. Its sites range geographically from near Moora (north of Perth) and Narrogin in the central Wheatbelt, extending south-east towards the Esperance district. Registered in December 2014, the project utilizes land previously dedicated to agricultural activities such as broadacre cropping and grazing.

The project operates under the "Measurement Based Methods for New Farm Forestry Plantations" methodology. Unlike simpler environmental planting methods that rely on default estimates, this methodology allows for site-specific measurements to calculate carbon abatement, often resulting in more accurate data for commercial plantations. The project involves the establishment of permanent plantings featuring hardy species such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum), Eucalyptus kochii (Oil Mallee), and Eucalyptus loxophleba (York Gum). These species are specifically selected for their resilience in the Western Australian landscape, providing dual benefits of carbon sequestration and land restoration, particularly in mitigating dryland salinity, which is prevalent in these regions.

Environmentally, the project sites sit within a Mediterranean climate zone characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Rainfall in these operational areas typically ranges between 300mm and 600mm annually. The soil composition varies significantly across the widely dispersed sites but generally includes the ancient, weathered profiles typical of the Yilgarn Craton, ranging from sandy loams and lateritic gravels to heavier clays often associated with valley floors where salinity risks are higher.

A significant administrative milestone for this project occurred in June 2017, when the proponent, Electricity Generation and Retail Corporation (trading as Synergy), elected to vary the project's permanence period. Synergy requested the project be treated under a 25-year permanence obligation rather than the standard 100-year period. This strategic adjustment required the proponent to relinquish 18,999 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Clean Energy Regulator to align the credit issuance with the reduced permanence timeline. The project is managed in participation with the Forest Products Commission (FPC), utilizing their forestry expertise to manage the dispersed estate.