Australian Batteries Overtake Gas in Evening Peak With 8% Share

• Grid-scale batteries supplied 8.0% of NEM evening-peak generation in Q3 2026, overtaking gas at 5.1% for the first time in any quarter.
• Batteries shifted 10.9 GWh a day into the 4-9 p.m. peak, up from 3.2 GWh, and set prices in 48% of dispatch intervals.
• Standalone batteries make up 55% of AEMO's 80.9-GW connection pipeline; four battery projects with 1.0 GW / 3.4 GWh were registered in the quarter.

Grid-scale batteries supplied 8.0% of evening-peak generation on Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) in the third quarter, overtaking gas at 5.1% for the first time.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) published the figures Oct. 23 in its Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q3 2026. It defines the peak as 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Gas-fired output fell 34% over the quarter to an average 881 MW, the lowest third-quarter level since 2000.

The NEM's battery storage fleet passed 10 GW / 23 GWh by the end of September, counting projects still in commissioning. Renewables supplied a record third-quarter 44.3% of generation, up from 41.8%, as grid-scale solar output rose 30%. Households with rooftop solar and batteries drew about three-quarters less grid power in the evening peak than those with solar alone, AEMO's sample data suggest.

The September quarter in numbers

• 13.4 GWh charged daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 10.9 GWh discharged in the evening peak, up from 3.7 GWh and 3.2 GWh.
• About 2.2 GW of average battery output in the evening peak (list.solar calculation), against 1,385 MW from gas, half its year-earlier level.
• 48% of dispatch intervals had prices set by battery charging or discharging, up from 18% a year earlier.
• A$63 ($44) per MWh average NEM spot price, down 27% year on year and the lowest for a third quarter since 2021.
• 80.4% of NEM generation came from renewables and storage in the half-hour ending 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, a record.
• 27 GW of small-scale solar capacity across the NEM at the end of September, up 12% from 24 GW.
• 4.5 GW / 14.1 GWh of projects won connection application approval in July–September, including 17 batteries with 3.6 GW, AEMO's Connections Scorecard shows.

"Batteries continue to shift record amounts of renewable energy into the higher-demand evening period, when households and businesses typically need more power," Violette Mouchaileh, AEMO's executive general manager for policy and corporate affairs, said in a statement.

More storage is heading for the grid. Four battery projects with 1.0 GW / 3.4 GWh reached registration in the quarter, the stage before commissioning, AEMO's Oct. 21 scorecard shows.