Continuous Drying Kiln Upgrade - Dardanup Mill

Continuous Drying Kiln Upgrade - Dardanup Mill is an industrial energy efficiency project located at Dardanup, approximately 15km south-east of Bunbury in Western Australia. It was registered in January 2018 by the proponent Wespine Industries Pty Ltd and covers an unknown project area size.

Industrial Electricity and Fuel Efficiency projects involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions by modifying, installing, removing, or replacing existing energy-consuming equipment to improve performance. For this specific project, the methodology requirements center on reducing the business-as-usual emissions associated with process heat. By upgrading to a state-of-the-art continuous timber drying kiln, the sawmill successfully replaced five older batch kilns. This major upgrade allows the facility to dry 180,000 cubic meters of timber per year while cutting gas usage by 40% and electricity consumption by 25%.

The Dardanup and surrounding Ferguson Valley area is an agricultural hinterland heavily utilized for forestry, dairy farming, beef production, and vineyards. The region experiences a Mediterranean-type climate with a high average annual rainfall of around 914 mm. The local soils, situated on the Swan Coastal Plain, are typically Dardanup soils which predominantly consist of loams, clays, and sandy clay loams.

In addition to its energy efficiencies, the new continuous drying kiln has completely eliminated the use of groundwater in the timber drying process, providing significant local environmental benefits. The carbon project was contracted in April 2020, and its associated Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC456592) was successfully completed on March 16, 2026.