Bally Castle Regeneration Project

The Bally Castle Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 90km west of Bourke in New South Wales. Registered in July 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 24,349 hectares within the Mulga Lands bioregion. The property, known as "Bally Castle Station," operates within the Bourke Shire Council area, a region traditionally dominated by rangeland grazing for sheep, cattle, and goats.

This project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology, which credits carbon sequestered by regenerating native forests on land where vegetation growth was previously suppressed, typically by livestock or feral animals. To generate credits, the proponent must demonstrate the cessation of mechanical clearing and the management of grazing pressure to allow native species, such as Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Bimble Box, to reach forest cover status. The project reports activities including the management of grazing timing and the humane control of feral animals.

The environmental conditions at Bally Castle are characteristic of the semi-arid Far West of NSW. The area receives low, variable rainfall (averaging approximately 300mm–350mm annually) and features extensive plains of red earth and sandy loam soils. The landscape includes ephemeral features such as "Lake Ballymere," suggesting the presence of claypans and temporary water bodies that support local biodiversity when inundated.

An interesting commercial detail regarding this project is its connection to the corporate voluntary market. Public disclosures indicate that Woodside Energy, a major Australian petroleum exploration and production company, has held Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by the Bally Castle Regeneration Project as part of its carbon abatement portfolio. Additionally, while the total project area is over 24,000 hectares, the active Carbon Estimation Area (CEA), the specific portion counted for carbon sequestration, was reported as approximately 16,541 hectares in 2023.