How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in August 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $2.70M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue in August 2026, from 13 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover the full period.
Normalised across 999 MW and 1,581 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $2,705/MW and $1,710/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was down 8% on July 2026, which returned $2.95M. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were down 9% at $87/MW/day. Optimal capture improved 12 points, from 29% to 41%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 92% of the total and FCAS 7%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 1% ($31k). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 64% and contingency 36%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $72k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $130/MWh, down 35% on the previous period, and the highest spot price reached $376/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 41% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $3.47M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Clements Gap BESS (59%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (51%), Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (51%). At the other end: Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station (31%), Hornsdale Power Reserve (28%), Dalrymple North BESS (-1%) — capture reflects strategy, contracting and constraints as much as skill, so a low figure is not automatically underperformance.
The strongest single day was 7 Aug 2026 at $199k, and the best single battery-day was Blyth Battery Energy Storage System on 7 Aug 2026 with $64k. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 31 days delivered 31% of everything South Australia batteries earned.
Blyth Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $665k. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw one price event this period, negative pricing bottoming at $-497/MWh.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $665k | $3,324/MW | $1,662/MWh | 38% |
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $615k | $4,097/MW | $2,048/MWh | 51% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $442k | $1,768/MW | $1,768/MWh | 39% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $357k | $3,565/MW | $1,783/MWh | 42% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $297k | $4,953/MW | $2,476/MWh | 59% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $226k | $1,504/MW | $1,163/MWh | 28% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $72k | $1,768/MW | $1,768/MWh | 31% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $65k | $2,617/MW | $1,258/MWh | 33% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $13k | $2,120/MW | $2,173/MWh | 43% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $10k | $2,596/MW | $2,596/MWh | 51% |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $5k | $2,703/MW | $2,703/MWh | — |
| Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant | $5k | $2,479/MW | $2,652/MWh | — |
Capture = actual energy revenue as a share of the perfect-foresight LP benchmark; shown only for units with material modelled upside.
Keep reading: NEM-wide wrap — August 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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