How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in Q3 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $9.27M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue in Q3 2026, from 13 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover the full period.
Normalised across 1,101 MW and 1,868 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $8,421/MW and $4,965/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was up 18% on Q2 2026, which returned $7.85M. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were up 20% at $92/MW/day. Optimal capture improved 9 points, from 31% to 40%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 90% of the total and FCAS 10%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($81k). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 37% and contingency 63%; the single largest market was raise 1-second at $274k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $158/MWh, down 43% on the previous period, and the highest spot price reached $16,971/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 40% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $12.06M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Templers Battery Energy Storage System (62%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (57%), Clements Gap BESS (56%). At the other end: Hornsdale Power Reserve (29%), Dalrymple North BESS (-3%), Summerfield BESS 1 (-214%) — 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 $1.23M, and the best single battery-day was Hornsdale Power Reserve on 8 Jul 2026 with $307k. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 92 days delivered 23% of everything South Australia batteries earned.
Blyth Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $2.29M. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw 38 price events this period, the sharpest an extreme price event peaking at $16,971/MWh.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $2.29M | $11k/MW | $5,718/MWh | 41% |
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $1.82M | $12k/MW | $6,079/MWh | 46% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $1.42M | $5,690/MW | $5,690/MWh | 32% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $1.30M | $13k/MW | $6,493/MWh | 45% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $926k | $6,171/MW | $4,771/MWh | 29% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $923k | $15k/MW | $7,688/MWh | 56% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $291k | $7,100/MW | $7,100/MWh | 36% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $222k | $8,899/MW | $4,278/MWh | 33% |
| Templers Battery Energy Storage System | $105k | $942/MW | $367/MWh | 62% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $46k | $7,502/MW | $4,394/MWh | 46% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $42k | $10k/MW | $5,663/MWh | 57% |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $21k | $10k/MW | $4,954/MWh | 54% |
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: Q2 2026NEM-wide wrap — Q3 2026South Australia battery fleetActual vs optimal dispatchMarket eventsHow capture is calculated
Explore: All insightsBattery fleetActual vs optimalPerformance rankingsMarket economicsMarket eventsBid stackBidding strategyVirtual power plantsHome battery potential (modelled)Project simulatorAskPulseEmail alerts
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.
Loading live data…