How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in September 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $93k in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue so far in September 2026, from 13 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover September 2026 to date (through 1 Sep 2026).
Normalised across 1,020 MW and 1,583 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $91/MW and $59/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was down 37% on the same days of August 2026, which returned $148k. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were down 38% at $91/MW/day. Optimal capture slipped 17 points, from 64% to 47%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 95% of the total and FCAS 5%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($28). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 90% and contingency 10%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $3k.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 47% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $98k of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (76%), Clements Gap BESS (54%), Blyth Battery Energy Storage System (52%).
The strongest single day was 1 Sep 2026 at $93k, and the best single battery-day was Bungama Battery Energy Storage System on 1 Sep 2026 with $34k.
Bungama Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $34k. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $34k | $224/MW | $112/MWh | 76% |
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $22k | $111/MW | $56/MWh | 52% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $18k | $73/MW | $73/MWh | 46% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $6k | $38/MW | $29/MWh | 22% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $5k | $88/MW | $44/MWh | 54% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $4k | $36/MW | $18/MWh | 20% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $2k | $58/MW | $58/MWh | — |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $2k | $66/MW | $32/MWh | — |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $179 | $29/MW | $30/MWh | — |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $100 | $25/MW | $25/MWh | — |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $59 | $30/MW | $30/MWh | — |
| Dalrymple North BESS | $54 | $2/MW | $4/MWh | — |
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: August 2026NEM-wide wrap — September 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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