How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in H1 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $44.40M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue in H1 2026, from 14 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover the full period.
Normalised across 1,131 MW and 1,868 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $39k/MW and $24k/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was up 25% on H2 2025, which returned $35.51M. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were up 4% at $217/MW/day. Optimal capture improved 9 points, from 45% to 54%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 97% of the total and FCAS 3%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($218k). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 64% and contingency 36%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $516k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $413/MWh, up 35% on the previous period, and the highest spot price reached $20,300/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 54% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $35.67M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant (82%), Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant (75%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (68%). At the other end: Dalrymple North BESS (23%), Clements Gap BESS (6%), Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (4%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.
The strongest single day was 26 Jan 2026 at $17.95M, and the best single battery-day was Blyth Battery Energy Storage System on 26 Jan 2026 with $4.98M. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 181 days delivered 58% of everything South Australia batteries earned.
One battery earned its first market revenue in the period — Clements Gap BESS — adding 60 MW of earning capacity.
Blyth Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $11.56M. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw 79 price events this period, the sharpest an extreme price event peaking at $20,300/MWh.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $11.56M | $58k/MW | $29k/MWh | 62% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $9.08M | $36k/MW | $36k/MWh | 51% |
| Templers Battery Energy Storage System | $8.59M | $77k/MW | $30k/MWh | 64% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $7.26M | $73k/MW | $36k/MWh | 60% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $4.27M | $28k/MW | $22k/MWh | 43% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $1.60M | $39k/MW | $39k/MWh | 53% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $936k | $37k/MW | $18k/MWh | 36% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $291k | $47k/MW | $49k/MWh | 64% |
| Dalrymple North BESS | $239k | $7,961/MW | $20k/MWh | 23% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $212k | $53k/MW | $53k/MWh | 68% |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $142k | $71k/MW | $71k/MWh | 82% |
| Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant | $134k | $62k/MW | $67k/MWh | 75% |
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: Previous period: H2 2025NEM-wide wrap — H1 2026South Australia 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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