Between February and June 2020, Gayan Abeynayake moved from InnoDC to another project, Feasibility Study to Unlocking Flexibility from within Industrial and Commercial Users. It is a Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) project, funded by National Grid Electricity Transmission Plc, and led by Prof Liana Cipcigan of Cardiff University. Its aim is to identify the flexibility of large industrial and commercial users in providing different ancillary services to the British network. Gayan’s focus was on the capability of these prosumers* to provide black-start support.
Gayan brought his InnoDC experience to the project, which helped him complete his research on time. He then returned to InnoDC with valuable knowledge of Britain’s electricity network and grid code, and fresh ideas for his PhD.
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* A prosumer produces and consumes energy. This article by the United States Department of Energy explains in more detail, illustrated in their image below right by Sarah Harman.
