Furnihurst Carbon Project 2026

Furnihurst Carbon Project 2026 is an Environmental and mallee planting project located approximately 7km east of Wagin and 13km north of Woodanilling in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region. It was registered in March 2026 and covers a total area of 2,819.35 hectares.

Environmental and mallee planting projects involve establishing permanent plantings of native tree species or mallee eucalypts to capture carbon, requiring the trees to eventually reach a minimum of 20% canopy cover and a height of at least 2 meters at maturity to achieve forest cover. The specific activities for this project focus on establishing and maintaining permanent plantings consisting exclusively of native mallee eucalypt species.

The Wagin and Woodanilling region is heavily characterized by broadacre agricultural land use, primarily dryland cereal cropping and livestock grazing. The local environment features a Mediterranean climate with a moderate annual rainfall classification of approximately 400 to 500 millimetres. The region's soil profile is predominantly made up of grey deep sandy duplex soils, typically featuring acid topsoils and sodic neutral to clay subsoils.

Notably, this project is operated by INPEX New Energy Business Australia Pty Ltd as part of the "Wheatbelt Connect" initiative, which is a joint venture between INPEX, ANZ, and Qantas. The project targets marginal, sub-optimal agricultural lands and utilizes a relatively low planting density of about 500 stems per hectare. This lower density approach minimizes plantation fire risk and allows for the reintroduction of livestock grazing once the mallee trees reach sufficient maturity (in approximately 3 to 4 years), demonstrating how carbon farming can provide supplemental income while integrating effectively with traditional farming systems.