NEMPulse · Insights · Fleet

NEM Battery Fleet Wrap — September 2026

Fleet-wide energy and FCAS market revenue, normalised $/MW and $/MWh, and the top-earning grid-scale batteries in September 2026.

  • Energy + FCAS revenue: $791k
  • Batteries: 57
  • Rev / MW: $95/MW
  • Rev / MWh: $39/MWh
  • Optimal capture: 64%
  • $/MW/day vs August 2026: +37%
  • VPP FCAS revenue: $74

Across the Australian National Electricity Market, 57 grid-scale batteries earned a combined $791k in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue so far in September 2026, based on AEMO dispatch data tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover September 2026 to date (through 1 Sep 2026).

Normalised across the fleet's 8,301 MW and 20,205 MWh of active capacity, batteries earned $95/MW and $39/MWh for the period.

Total revenue was up 84% on the same days of August 2026, which returned $430k. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were up 37% at $95/MW/day. Optimal capture improved 30 points, from 34% to 64%.

Energy arbitrage supplied 98% of the total and FCAS 2%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($253). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 92% and contingency 8%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $13k.

Revenue per MW by battery duration class: 1H: $50/MW, 2H: $85/MW, 3H: $172/MW, 4H+: $153/MW. Longer-duration assets typically earn more per MW through energy arbitrage, while shorter-duration batteries often lead on a per-MWh basis.

On energy arbitrage, the fleet captured 64% of the revenue a perfect-foresight strategy would have earned over the same period, leaving an estimated $426k on the table.

Re-solving the same batteries on AEMO's published PREDISPATCH price forecasts instead of hindsight — execution held identical to the perfect run — reaches 74% of the perfect ceiling across the 1 forecast-covered days in the period, against 59% actually realised. That isolates what public price information alone is worth; it is a reference point, not a floor — real dispatch can beat it or fall short of it.

On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System (96%), New England BESS (94%), Supernode BESS (92%). At the other end: Mortlake Battery Energy Storage System (1%), Eraring Battery Energy Storage System (0%), Liddell Battery Energy Storage System (0%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.

The strongest single day was 1 Sep 2026 at $791k, and the best single battery-day was Orana BESS on 1 Sep 2026 with $124k.

The top earners were Orana BESS ($124k); Supernode BESS ($76k); Supernode BESS ($42k).

Alongside grid-scale BESS, 10 residential virtual power plant (VPP) and demand-response aggregator units contributed an estimated $74 in FCAS market revenue so far in September 2026 ($1/MW of registered FCAS capacity). VPPs participate exclusively in FCAS markets through pooled residential and commercial assets.

Top batteries — September 2026
BatteryRegionEnergy + FCAS$/MW$/MWhCapture
Orana BESSNSW1$124k$298/MW$74/MWh88%
Supernode BESSQLD1$76k$292/MW$70/MWh89%
Supernode BESSQLD1$42k$163/MW$78/MWh92%
Tarong BESSQLD1$39k$130/MW$65/MWh77%
Limondale BatteryNSW1$38k$757/MW$71/MWh91%
Swanbank BESSQLD1$35k$140/MW$70/MWh79%
Western Downs Battery Energy Storage SystemQLD1$34k$133/MW$85/MWh96%
Bungama Battery Energy Storage SystemSA1$34k$224/MW$112/MWh76%
Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)QLD1$33k$131/MW$65/MWh68%
Brendale BESSQLD1$27k$133/MW$66/MWh80%

Capture = actual energy revenue as a share of the perfect-foresight LP benchmark; shown only for units with material modelled upside.

Region breakdown — September 2026
RegionBatteriesEnergy + FCAS$/MW$/MWh
Queensland14$383k$149/MW$69/MWh
New South Wales14$232k$106/MW$30/MWh
South Australia13$93k$91/MW$59/MWh
Victoria16$82k$33/MW$15/MWh

$/MW uses Max Cap (the grid-constrained operational rating); $/MWh uses registered energy capacity.

Keep reading: Previous period: August 2026Battery fleet dashboardPerformance rankingsActual vs optimal dispatchMarket eventsHow capture is calculated

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Automatically generated from AEMO public data using fixed templates (not AI-written). Figures are estimated gross market revenue (energy + FCAS) from dispatch — they exclude contracts, hedges and network-support schemes (e.g. SIPS), so actual commercial revenue will differ.

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