Renewables

Energy Insiders Podcast: Energy Estate’s very big storage play

Renew Estate and its related company Energy Estate are quickly emerging as one of the most interesting and astute developers of renewable energy projects in Australia.

Earlier this month, Renew Estate sealed a landmark deal on its Bomen solar farm near Wagga Wagga, signing contracts with Westpac, a leading winemaker and a major snack foods company, and then selling the asset to the network owner who will connect it.

Now, Energy Estate has its eye on a bigger prize. Co-founder and principal Simon Currie tells Energy Insiders that the development application for a 700MW solar farm and a 100MW/200MWh large scale battery have just been filed with the NSW government, the first stage of the proposed 4,000MW Walcha renewable energy project.

This project, which would be the biggest to connect to Australia’s grid, is looking to combine solar, wind, battery storage and pumped hydro.

Currie says it is just one part of the massive changes that are occurring in Australian’s market. Storage is now the key to new wind and solar developments, the push by networks into owning generation assets will be a big change, and new rule changes will play a key role in the shape of the market to come.

You can listen to this and other episodes of Energy Insiders, and our other podcast series Solar Insiders and The Driven, here and on your favourite podcast platform.

Solaray is a proud sponsor of Energy Insiders
Solaray is a proud sponsor of Energy Insiders
wattwatchers is a proud sponsor of Energy Insiders

Join Renew Economy founder and editor-in-chief Giles Parkinson and columnist and energy markets expert David Leitch as they discuss the week's main events - politics, solar and storage.

Energy Insiders Podcast

Join Renew Economy founder and editor-in-chief Giles Parkinson and columnist and energy markets expert David Leitch as they discuss the week's main events - politics, solar and storage.

Share

Recent Posts

Plans for one of Australia’s biggest new gas plants sail through EPBC queue in just over two weeks

As wind generation proposals get stuck in EPBC limbo, plans for what could be the…

11 August 2026

Last turbine goes up as major wind farm completes expansion to become biggest in state

The last of 30 additional turbines have been added to existing wind farm, making it…

11 August 2026

Investor behind Amber Electric hits $10 million under management, milestone for new fund

Sydney based early-stage climate technology investor reaches $10 million under management and secures first close…

11 August 2026

SwitchedOn podcast: Biggest barrier to electrifying apartments? Knowing what’s possible

Strata manager Ash Sayers explains why getting the right advice early can turn apartment electrification…

11 August 2026

Study shows Australians are still not keen on VPPs. Is it a tariff problem, or lack of trust?

Much more work needs to be done to create consumer protections and change tariffs to…

11 August 2026

The ESEM’s contract co-design paradox – will financiers actually bank it?

The Electricity Services Entry Mechanism (ESEM) is the most significant structural reform to the NEM…

11 August 2026