WTS Mt Gambier Fuel Switch

WTS Mt Gambier Fuel Switch is a fuel switching energy efficiency project located directly within the township of Mount Gambier in southeastern South Australia. It was registered in November 2018 and covers an unspecified area, as it operates entirely within the commercial sawmill facilities of Whiteheads Timber Sales.

Fuel switching projects involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions by changing the primary energy sources or the mix of energy sources used by existing energy-consuming equipment. Under the Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction methodology, proponents are required to track, measure, and verify the energy efficiency improvements resulting from these operational changes.

The Mount Gambier region, famously part of the "Green Triangle," is renowned for its extensive commercial forestry operations, particularly Radiata pine plantations, alongside cattle grazing and cropping. The area experiences moderate to high rainfall, averaging 745–805mm annually, and the regional soils are characterized by highly fertile dark volcanic ash near the Mount Gambier craters, as well as shallow loams over calcrete and limestone.

This project was established by Whiteheads Timber Sales, an Australian-owned family timber and hardware company, to optimize industrial fuel consumption during their milling operations. In May 2025, the project updated its governance from the 2015 Industrial Electricity and Fuel Efficiency standard to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction) Methodology Determination 2021.