How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in July 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $2.50M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue in July 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 $2,212/MW and $1,339/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was down 39% on June 2026, which returned $4.11M. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were down 41% at $71/MW/day. Optimal capture slipped 13 points, from 34% to 21%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 77% of the total and FCAS 22%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 1% ($23k). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 19% and contingency 81%; the single largest market was raise 1-second at $267k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $200/MWh, down 65% on the previous period, and the highest spot price reached $16,971/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 21% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $6.16M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant (62%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (61%), Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant (55%). At the other end: Blyth Battery Energy Storage System (14%), Dalrymple North BESS (6%), Templers Battery Energy Storage System (-3%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.
The strongest single day was 8 Jul 2026 at $1.14M, and the best single battery-day was Hornsdale Power Reserve on 8 Jul 2026 with $339k. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 31 days delivered 65% of everything South Australia batteries earned.
Mannum Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $454k. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw 23 price events this period, the sharpest an extreme price event peaking at $16,971/MWh.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $454k | $4,541/MW | $2,271/MWh | 36% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $408k | $2,717/MW | $2,101/MWh | 20% |
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $393k | $1,965/MW | $982/MWh | 14% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $369k | $1,475/MW | $1,475/MWh | 15% |
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $356k | $2,372/MW | $1,186/MWh | 22% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $292k | $4,869/MW | $2,434/MWh | 27% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $100k | $2,445/MW | $2,445/MWh | 21% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $77k | $3,073/MW | $1,477/MWh | 29% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $19k | $4,681/MW | $4,681/MWh | 61% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $14k | $2,233/MW | $2,289/MWh | 35% |
| Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant | $10k | $4,453/MW | $4,765/MWh | 62% |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $9k | $4,577/MW | $4,577/MWh | 55% |
Capture = actual energy revenue as a share of the perfect-foresight LP benchmark; shown only for units with material modelled upside.
Keep reading: Previous period: June 2026NEM-wide wrap — July 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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