NEMPulse · Insights · Fleet

NEM Battery Fleet Wrap — Q4 2026

Fleet-wide energy and FCAS market revenue, normalised $/MW and $/MWh, and the top-earning grid-scale batteries in Q4 2026.

  • Energy + FCAS revenue: $869k
  • Batteries: 49
  • Rev / MW: $115/MW
  • Rev / MWh: $51/MWh
  • Optimal capture: 37%
  • $/MW/day vs Q3 2026: +366%
  • VPP FCAS revenue: $180

Across the Australian National Electricity Market, 49 grid-scale batteries earned a combined $869k in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue so far in Q4 2026, based on AEMO dispatch data tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover Q4 2026 to date (through 1 Oct 2026).

Normalised across the fleet's 7,532 MW and 16,985 MWh of active capacity, batteries earned $115/MW and $51/MWh for the period.

Total revenue was up 638% on the same days of Q3 2026, which returned $118k. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were up 366% at $115/MW/day. Optimal capture improved 23 points, from 14% to 37%.

Energy arbitrage supplied 98% of the total and FCAS 2%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($788). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 90% and contingency 10%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $11k.

Revenue per MW by battery duration class: 1H: $18/MW, 2H: $116/MW, 3H: $91/MW, 4H+: $269/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 37% of the revenue a perfect-foresight strategy would have earned over the same period, leaving an estimated $1.39M 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 52% of the perfect ceiling across the 1 forecast-covered days in the period, against 36% 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 Mornington BESS (100%), Templers Battery Energy Storage System (92%), Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System (90%). At the other end: Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (-28%), Smithfield Battery Energy Storage System, Units 1 - 36 (-29%), Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System (-63%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.

The strongest single day was 1 Oct 2026 at $869k, and the best single battery-day was Orana BESS on 1 Oct 2026 with $100k.

The top earners were Orana BESS ($100k); Supernode BESS ($94k); Swanbank BESS ($57k).

Alongside grid-scale BESS, 13 residential virtual power plant (VPP) and demand-response aggregator units contributed an estimated $180 in FCAS market revenue so far in Q4 2026 ($2/MW of registered FCAS capacity). VPPs participate exclusively in FCAS markets through pooled residential and commercial assets.

Top batteries — Q4 2026
BatteryRegionEnergy + FCAS$/MW$/MWhCapture
Orana BESSNSW1$100k$242/MW$60/MWh59%
Supernode BESSQLD1$94k$360/MW$86/MWh76%
Swanbank BESSQLD1$57k$226/MW$113/MWh78%
Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)QLD1$55k$218/MW$109/MWh74%
Western Downs Battery Energy Storage SystemQLD1$54k$212/MW$135/MWh90%
Supernode BESSQLD1$52k$202/MW$96/MWh72%
Brendale BESSQLD1$51k$251/MW$125/MWh77%
Broadsound Energy ParkQLD1$39k$218/MW$109/MWh73%
Mornington BESSVIC1$36k$148/MW$60/MWh100%
Rangebank BESSVIC1$35k$174/MW$87/MWh44%

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

Region breakdown — Q4 2026
RegionBatteriesEnergy + FCAS$/MW$/MWh
Queensland14$546k$195/MW$89/MWh
New South Wales12$142k$68/MW$26/MWh
Victoria9$100k$64/MW$31/MWh
South Australia14$81k$74/MW$40/MWh

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

Keep reading: Previous period: Q3 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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