How Queensland's grid-scale batteries performed in Q1 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
Queensland (QLD1) batteries earned $21.62M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue in Q1 2026, from 12 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover the full period.
Normalised across 2,132 MW and 4,117 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $10k/MW and $5,252/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was down 6% on Q4 2025, which returned $23.10M. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were down 16% at $113/MW/day. Optimal capture slipped 7 points, from 60% to 53%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 91% of the total and FCAS 8%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments adding $219k. Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 35% and contingency 65%; the single largest market was lower 6-second at $524k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in Queensland was $131/MWh, down 21% on the previous period, and the highest spot price reached $19,728/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, Queensland batteries captured 53% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $16.87M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Brendale BESS (61%), Tarong BESS (61%), Ulinda Park BESS (58%). At the other end: Wandoan Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) (42%), Swanbank BESS (38%), Bouldercombe Battery Project (28%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.
The strongest single day was 15 Jan 2026 at $2.06M, and the best single battery-day was Supernode BESS on 15 Jan 2026 with $602k. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 90 days delivered 20% of everything Queensland batteries earned.
Tarong BESS led the region with $3.48M. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
Queensland saw 2 price events this period, the sharpest an extreme price event peaking at $19,728/MWh.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarong BESS | $3.48M | $12k/MW | $5,798/MWh | 61% |
| Brendale BESS | $3.11M | $15k/MW | $7,585/MWh | 61% |
| Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | $3.11M | $12k/MW | $6,092/MWh | 52% |
| Supernode BESS | $2.72M | $10k/MW | $4,994/MWh | 50% |
| Western Downs Battery Energy Storage System | $2.66M | $10k/MW | $6,645/MWh | 55% |
| Greenbank BESS | $2.27M | $11k/MW | $5,671/MWh | 53% |
| Ulinda Park BESS | $1.93M | $12k/MW | $6,478/MWh | 58% |
| Chinchilla BESS, Units 1-80 | $821k | $8,213/MW | $4,107/MWh | 43% |
| Wandoan Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) | $800k | $8,001/MW | $5,334/MWh | 42% |
| Bouldercombe Battery Project | $508k | $10k/MW | $5,077/MWh | 28% |
| Swanbank BESS | $220k | $879/MW | $440/MWh | 38% |
| Kennedy Energy Park Battery | $33 | $17/MW | $8/MWh | — |
Capture = actual energy revenue as a share of the perfect-foresight LP benchmark; shown only for units with material modelled upside.
Third-party reporting on these units, matched automatically and linked for context. NEMPulse does not endorse or verify external coverage.
Keep reading: NEM-wide wrap — Q1 2026Queensland battery fleetActual 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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