WPC Carbon Project

The WPC Carbon Project is a soil carbon sequestration project located in the Lachlan Shire Council area of New South Wales, approximately 60km northwest of Condobolin. Registered in April 2024, the project covers a substantial area of 3,296 hectares. The region is situated in Central West NSW, an area traditionally dominated by dryland cropping and grazing operations. The landscape here typically features red earth and red-brown earth soils, with a semi-arid climate receiving an average annual rainfall of approximately 450mm to 500mm, making moisture management critical for agricultural productivity.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration using Measurement and Models) Methodology Determination 2021. This methodology allows proponents to earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) by increasing soil organic carbon stocks through changes in land management. Unlike older methods that relied solely on expensive physical sampling, the 2021 method permits a hybrid approach using predictive models validated by physical measurement to estimate carbon storage, significantly reducing compliance costs for farmers.

A key feature of this project is its proponent, Loam Carbon Pty Ltd, a company known for its specialized microbial technology. While the primary registered activity is "applying nutrients to the land," Loam Carbon typically integrates this with their proprietary CarbonBuilder fungal inoculum. This biological seed coating is designed to increase the stability of carbon stored in the soil by enhancing the formation of soil aggregates. By addressing nutrient deficiencies and potentially introducing these carbon-fixing microbes, the project aims to improve soil health and crop yields while generating a secondary income stream through carbon credits.