How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $51.15M in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue so far in 2026, from 14 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover 2026 to date (through 14 Sep 2026).
Normalised across 1,131 MW and 1,868 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $45k/MW and $27k/MWh for the period.
Energy arbitrage supplied 95% of the total and FCAS 4%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 1% ($284k). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 52% and contingency 48%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $675k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $339/MWh, and the highest spot price reached $20,300/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 50% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $47.05M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant (91%), Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant (84%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (77%). At the other end: Hornsdale Power Reserve (37%), Dalrymple North BESS (24%), Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (24%) — 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 $18.24M, and the best single battery-day was Blyth Battery Energy Storage System on 26 Jan 2026 with $4.77M. Revenue stays concentrated: five of the period's 257 days delivered 54% 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 $11.88M. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw 113 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 | $11.88M | $59k/MW | $30k/MWh | 51% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $10.06M | $40k/MW | $40k/MWh | 47% |
| Templers Battery Energy Storage System | $8.97M | $81k/MW | $31k/MWh | 67% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $8.77M | $88k/MW | $44k/MWh | 60% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $4.71M | $31k/MW | $24k/MWh | 37% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $1.91M | $47k/MW | $47k/MWh | 52% |
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $1.58M | $11k/MW | $5,282/MWh | 24% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $1.21M | $48k/MW | $23k/MWh | 38% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $794k | $13k/MW | $6,619/MWh | 41% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $365k | $59k/MW | $61k/MWh | 71% |
| Dalrymple North BESS | $281k | $9,370/MW | $23k/MWh | 24% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $276k | $69k/MW | $69k/MWh | 77% |
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: NEM-wide wrap — 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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