Turpentine Carbon Project

Turpentine Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located approximately 35km northeast of Goondiwindi in Southern Queensland. It was registered in October 2015 and covers an area of 3,844.23 ha.

Soil carbon sequestration projects involve altering agricultural land management practices to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. Under the Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models (2021) methodology, standard requirements involve establishing baseline carbon levels and demonstrating new, eligible management activities to build carbon stocks. This specific method allows for a hybrid approach that utilises both rigorous physical soil sampling and modelled estimates to calculate carbon abatement, which helps reduce the high costs associated with traditional measurement-only methods.

The Goondiwindi region is a major agricultural hub well known for cattle grazing and broadacre cropping, including cotton and cereals. The area generally experiences a semi-arid to sub-tropical climate with typical average annual rainfall of 500mm to 600mm. Soils in this Brigalow Belt location are generally composed of grey clays and red loams.

To build soil carbon, the Turpentine Carbon Project is actively altering the stocking rate, duration, and intensity of its grazing, alongside re-establishing or rejuvenating pastures through seeding. Historically, reports indicate the land was previously severely overgrazed with significant bare ground. This prompted the proponents, Archer Pastoral and Corporate Carbon Solutions, to shift toward holistic management practices, such as implementing high-density, time-controlled cell grazing to restore soil health and improve vegetation cover.

Interestingly, this project site has been the focus of intensive eddy-current flux tower research involving the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and CarbonLink. Often referred to as "Goondiwindi 1" in recent academic papers, the site is prominent in scientific discussions surrounding the integrity of ACCU soil carbon measurements. The project also boasts a long operational history, successfully transitioning through three iterations of the soil carbon methodology (2014, 2018, and 2021) as regulations have evolved, and it holds an active fixed delivery contract with the Commonwealth for an impressive 1,040,000 ACCUs.