Midway Tasmania 2024_1

Midway Tasmania 2024_1 is a plantation forestry project located across two distinct regions of Tasmania. The project aggregates land near Harford, approximately 20km east of Devonport in the state's north-west, and near Ouse, roughly 80km north-west of Hobart in the Derwent Valley. Registered in August 2024, the project covers a total area of 677.81 hectares. The northern site sits within a region renowned for high-productivity agriculture and forestry, while the southern site is located in the Central Highlands area, traditionally utilized for extensive grazing and timber production.

The project operates under the Plantation Forestry (2022) methodology, which credits carbon sequestered in commercial timber plantations. This specific project employs a hybrid approach: it involves establishing new plantation forests on land previously clear of forest (Schedule 1) and maintaining existing plantations that were at risk of conversion to non-forested land, such as pasture (Schedule 2). By committing to maintain these trees for commercial harvest rather than clearing them for agriculture, the project generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) based on the long-term average carbon stocks of the trees.

Environmentally, the two locations offer different growing conditions. The northern site near Devonport benefits from high reliable rainfall and fertile red basalt soils (ferrosols), ideal for rapid tree growth. The southern site near Ouse experiences a drier, cooler climate with soils typically derived from dolerite and clay, supporting slower-growing but robust forestry operations.

The proponent, Australian Carbon Products Pty Ltd, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Midway Limited, one of Australia’s largest woodfibre processors and exporters. This project is part of Midway's broader strategy to transition towards "nature-based solutions," allowing them to secure timber resources for their processing facility at Bell Bay while simultaneously generating revenue through the carbon market.