The top 10 batteries under FPP

In our first article looking at the FPP winners and losers by fuel type, we identified batteries and coal assets as the biggest winners on a ‘net settlement’ basis.

When normalising for asset size, using the common “per MW of capacity” method, batteries emerge as far and away the biggest winners under FPP, leaving even the best coal assets in their wake when using this metric.

In this article we take a look at the top 10 batteries and how much they stand to gain under FPP, using NFO data published up to 6 March 2025. Whilst the NFO provides valuable insight, it is important to note that once Financial Operation begins participant behaviour may shift in response to the new dynamics.

Table 1 – the top 10 batteries on a ‘per MW’ Net Settlement basis.
(9 December 2024 to 6 March 2025)

BDU Battery Storage Facility		Performance Measure (see Caveats below)
DUID	Region	Net Settlement per MW (over 87 days)
PIBESS1	VIC1	$1,976/MW
BULBES1	VIC1	$953/MW
QBYNB1	NSW1	$640/MW
TIB1	SA1	$541/MW
ADPBA1	SA1	$497/MW
BBATTERY1	QLD1	$454/MW
BOWWBA1	SA1	$438/MW
GANNB1	VIC1	$428/MW
HVWWBA1	SA1	$337/MW
LBB1	SA1	$309/MW

The reader should note these caveats:

• In terms of the ‘Net Settlement’ calculation, caution should be exercised before extrapolating these figures to any other date range, for reasons including the following:
  • The date range covers the summer period, whereas different seasonal factors impact different periods of the year.
  • Regulation FCAS prices are variable, and Net Settlement dependent on the Raise/Lower Regulation Prices.
  • Participant behaviour is likely to change following the advent of FPP
• In terms of the installed capacity of the battery, Maximum Capacity has been used (though note these considerations).

 

As can be seen in Table 1, converting the NFO net settlement data to a Per MW value shows very healthy net settlement yields, especially given the period analysed spans only 87 days from 9 December 2024 to 6 March 2025. This duration reflects approximately 24% of a whole year, however caution should be used if extrapolating to an annual amount because of factors such as those noted above.

Notably there is a significant spread amongst the top 10 with Phillip Island and Bulgana BESS outperforming.

• Travelling further down the rankings (beyond the top 10 shown) shows not all batteries are performing as exceptionally, with some even negative on a net settlement basis.
• Time permitting, exploring how Phillip Island and Bulgana BESS were able to achieve such healthy Per MW net settlement yields may be the subject of a future article.

ETSI can help you better understand FPP. If you’d like more information on FPP, or you’d like to know how your battery compares or what you can do to improve your assets, then please get in touch. You can reach us:

• by leaving us a message below this article
• or emailing us at enquiries@etsi.energy

 

 

 

---

About our Guest Author

---

and…

---

Editor’s Full Disclosure

---