NEM Sub-5MW Solar and Storage - June 2026

June fleet revenue came in up 57% on May, and SA (SAPN)'s 4-hour battery site led at A$197k for the month.

  • Storage sites out-earned bare solar 2.7× across the fleet this month (A$125k → A$341k).
  • A single day, 22 June, delivered 44% of SA (SAPN)'s monthly revenue; the daily view shows what set it apart.
  • In the half-hourly data, SA (SAPN) spot prices ran from A$8 to A$458/MWh on 29 June. That's the spread the batteries were paid to catch.
  • SA (SAPN)'s solar-only site went backwards on 4 of 30 days, worst of them 18 June.

About the model

These benchmarks are produced in Gridcog by simulating a fleet of identical reference projects against real market outcomes. Each monthly edition re-runs the fleet over the trailing 12 months of actual half-hourly prices.

The reference project. Each site pairs a 6.0 MWdc / 5.0 MWac fixed-tilt ground-mount solar array with a 5 MW grid connection. Solar yield is derived from actual measured irradiance and weather at each site, time-aligned with the market prices. The storage scenarios add an AC-coupled 5 MW battery in 2-hour (10 MWh) and 4-hour (20 MWh) configurations: 85% round-trip efficiency, 90% usable depth of discharge, 2% annual degradation, capped at two cycles per day, with grid charging permitted and a cycling cost applied to every kWh charged and discharged.

Grid and network. Import and export are both limited to 5 MW at an HV connection. Each site carries its distributor's actual published network tariff: Energex CAC Dynamic Flex Storage (QLD), Essential Energy BHND4LS HV Storage/Hybrid (NSW), SAPN HVBG HV Business Generation (SA), and Powercor GT2 Generator Storage (VIC). Network charges are netted off the reported revenues. Site-specific marginal and distribution loss factors are applied, reflecting embedded generation in the distribution network, so settled revenues are for delivered energy rather than energy at the meter.

Markets and dispatch. Sites earn from their regional NEM energy spot market and all eight contingency FCAS markets, co-optimised; regulation FCAS is excluded. Prices and weather are actuals from the same period, settled per half-hour. Dispatch is decided against a synthetic, imperfect forecast derived from the settled data rather than perfect foresight, with revenues then settled at actual market prices, so the batteries can misjudge a spike the way a real operator can. Optimisation runs in rolling windows for the asset owner with a daily state-of-charge reset.

What's not included. Revenues are merchant only: no PPAs, hedges, or capacity contracts. Figures are gross market revenue less network charges, before capex, opex, and financing.

NEM Sub-5MW Hybrid