Spooner Carbon Project

The Spooner Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration initiative located approximately 10 kilometers west of Sarina and 35 kilometers south of Mackay in Central Queensland. Registered in September 2021, the project covers a relatively small area of roughly 65 hectares within the Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday region.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models) Methodology Determination 2021. Originally registered under the 2018 measurement-based method, the project varied its methodology in June 2023 to the 2021 version, which allows for a hybrid approach using both physical soil sampling and computational modelling to estimate carbon stocks. This shift is often utilised by proponents to reduce the high costs associated with physical sampling while maintaining rigorous abatement estimates.

Situated in the Sarina Range hinterland, the project area typically experiences a high-rainfall tropical to sub-tropical climate, distinct from the drier grazing lands further inland. The region's soils often consist of fertile alluvial loams or texture-contrast soils suitable for intensive grazing and sugarcane, though this specific project focuses on grazing activities. To generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs), the project implements new land management activities designed to boost soil health, such as altering stocking rates, duration, or intensity of grazing. These changes aim to increase the amount of organic carbon stored in the soil profile over the 25-year crediting period.