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 $47.09M 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 31 Jul 2026).
Normalised across 1,131 MW and 1,868 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $42k/MW and $25k/MWh for the period.
Energy arbitrage supplied 96% of the total and FCAS 4%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments adding $240k. Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 50% and contingency 50%; the single largest market was raise regulation at $573k.
For context on the trading conditions, the average daily price spread (top two hours minus bottom two hours) in South Australia was $381/MWh, and the highest spot price reached $20,300/MWh.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 51% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $41.97M of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant (92%), Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant (86%), Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant (78%). At the other end: Dalrymple North BESS (25%), Clements Gap BESS (16%), Bungama Battery Energy Storage System (12%) — 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 212 days delivered 58% 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 $10.95M. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
South Australia saw 102 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 | $10.95M | $55k/MW | $27k/MWh | 53% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $9.49M | $38k/MW | $38k/MWh | 48% |
| Templers Battery Energy Storage System | $8.97M | $81k/MW | $31k/MWh | 67% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $8.20M | $82k/MW | $41k/MWh | 62% |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $4.39M | $29k/MW | $23k/MWh | 38% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $1.82M | $44k/MW | $44k/MWh | 54% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $1.09M | $44k/MW | $21k/MWh | 38% |
| Bungama Battery Energy Storage System | $656k | $4,370/MW | $2,185/MWh | 12% |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $345k | $56k/MW | $58k/MWh | 73% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $321k | $5,355/MW | $2,677/MWh | 16% |
| Dalrymple North BESS | $270k | $9,016/MW | $22k/MWh | 25% |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $260k | $65k/MW | $65k/MWh | 78% |
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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