Queensland has become the first state in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to discharge over 100GWh from utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) in a single month.
The achievement came in April 2026, a month that also saw NEM gas generation fall to 382GWh, down 49% from 745GWh in April 2025, marking the lowest monthly gas generation in over two decades as battery storage continues to displace gas during evening peak periods.
Australia’s utility-scale solar PV and wind assets generated a combined 4.7TWh in April 2026, up 24% from 3.8TWh in the same month last year, according to data from Rystad Energy. The year-on-year increase follows March’s more modest 2% growth, reflecting improved wind conditions across the NEM and continued capacity additions.
Queensland emerged as the standout state for combined utility solar and wind generation, delivering 1,256GWh comprising 678GWh from utility PV and 578GWh from wind. The state’s wind generation jumped 112% year-on-year, reaching 578GWh in April 2026, up from 273GWh in April 2025.
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NEM wind generation reached 2.76TWh in April, up 33% from 2.08TWh in the same month last year, with wind generation increasing year-on-year across all NEM states.
For utility-scale solar PV, the top five best-performing assets in terms of AC capacity factor were concentrated entirely in Queensland and New South Wales. ENEOS Group and Sojitz Corporation’s 204MW Edenvale Solar Park led the rankings with an AC capacity factor of 33.1%, followed by METKA’s 110MW Moura Solar Farm at 32.8% and ACEN Australia’s 400MW Stubbo Stage 2 at 32.6%.
The top-performing wind assets were all located in Queensland and Tasmania. Atmos Renewables and Palisade Investment Partners’ Granville Harbour Wind Farm led at 51.5% capacity factor, followed by Atmos Renewables’ Cattle Hill at 50.4% and Eurus Energy Holdings’ Kennedy Energy wind farm at 48%.
NEM intraday spreads have collapsed as installed battery storage systems ramp up. The average 2-hour intraday spread was less than AU$110 (US$78.85) per MWh across all states except South Australia, which recorded AU$154 per MWh.
Two battery storage projects commenced construction during April: Alinta Energy’s 250MW/1,000MWh Reeves Plains BESS in South Australia, which will be the state’s largest, and Hanwha Energy’s 100MW/200MWh Tangkam battery storage system in New South Wales.
Geoff Eldridge of consultancy Global Power Energy estimates that approximately 571GWh of renewable energy generation was curtailed across the NEM in April, comprising 316GWh of wind and 255GWh of solar. Victoria recorded the highest curtailment at 255GWh, followed by New South Wales at 122GWh, South Australia at 100GWh and Queensland at 95GWh.
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