Walgoolan North Carbon Project

Walgoolan North Carbon Project is a plantation forestry project located at Walgoolan in Western Australia's Eastern Wheatbelt, approximately 55km east of Merredin and 316km east of Perth. It was registered in April 2026 and covers a significant 4486.75 hectares.

Plantation forestry projects under the 2022 method sequester carbon by establishing and maintaining new plantation forests for the commercial harvesting of wood products. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that no native forest has been cleared on the land in the previous 7 years. Additionally, proponents establishing new plantations must notify the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry so the Minister for Agriculture can assess the project and ensure it will not have an undesirable impact on local agricultural production.

The Walgoolan area is deeply rooted in agriculture, traditionally used for broadacre wheat and barley cropping, as well as sheep farming. The region experiences a semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 325mm. Environmental profiles in this part of the Wheatbelt typically consist of strong to medium clay loams intersected by granite outcrops.

Interestingly, this region is historically famous for being the epicentre of the 1932 "Great Emu War", where the Australian military was deployed to combat tens of thousands of migrating emus that were devastating local wheat crops. From a corporate standpoint, this project reflects major ongoing investment in the state; the proponent Outback Carbon is an unincorporated joint venture involving AGL Energy and Mitsui, established specifically to undertake carbon farming initiatives throughout the Western Australian Wheatbelt.