Projecting changes in annual hydropower generation using regional runoff data: An assessment of the United States federal hydropower plants
Abstract
Federal hydropower plants account for approximately half of installed US conventional hydropower capacity, and are an important part of the national renewable energy portfolio. Utilizing the strong linear relationship between the US Geological Survey WaterWatch runoff and annual hydropower generation, a runoff-based assessment approach is introduced in this study to project changes in annual and regional hydropower generation in multiple power marketing areas. Future climate scenarios are developed with a series of global and regional climate models, and the model output is bias-corrected to be consistent with observed data for the recent past. Using this approach, the median decrease in annual generation at federal projects is projected to be less than –2 TWh, with an estimated ensemble uncertainty of ±9 TWh. Although these estimates are similar to the recently observed variability in annual hydropower generation, and may therefore appear to be manageable, significantly seasonal runoff changes are projected and it may pose significant challenges in water systems with higher limits on reservoir storage and operational flexibility. Lastly, future assessments will be improved by incorporating next-generation climate models, by closer examination of extreme events and longer-term change, and by addressing the interactions among hydropower and other water uses.
- Authors:
-
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- BCS Inc., Wartburg, TN (United States)
- Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Water Technologies Office (EE-4W)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1185590
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1247851
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; SC005171
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Energy (Oxford)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Energy (Oxford); Journal Volume: 80; Journal Issue: 2015; Journal ID: ISSN 0360-5442
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; climate change; hydropower; water availability
Citation Formats
Kao, Shih -Chieh, Sale, Michael J., Ashfaq, Moetasim, Uria Martinez, Rocio, Kaiser, Dale Patrick, Wei, Yaxing, and Diffenbaugh, Noah S. Projecting changes in annual hydropower generation using regional runoff data: An assessment of the United States federal hydropower plants. United States: N. p., 2014.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.11.066.
Kao, Shih -Chieh, Sale, Michael J., Ashfaq, Moetasim, Uria Martinez, Rocio, Kaiser, Dale Patrick, Wei, Yaxing, & Diffenbaugh, Noah S. Projecting changes in annual hydropower generation using regional runoff data: An assessment of the United States federal hydropower plants. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.11.066
Kao, Shih -Chieh, Sale, Michael J., Ashfaq, Moetasim, Uria Martinez, Rocio, Kaiser, Dale Patrick, Wei, Yaxing, and Diffenbaugh, Noah S. Thu .
"Projecting changes in annual hydropower generation using regional runoff data: An assessment of the United States federal hydropower plants". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.11.066. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1185590.
@article{osti_1185590,
title = {Projecting changes in annual hydropower generation using regional runoff data: An assessment of the United States federal hydropower plants},
author = {Kao, Shih -Chieh and Sale, Michael J. and Ashfaq, Moetasim and Uria Martinez, Rocio and Kaiser, Dale Patrick and Wei, Yaxing and Diffenbaugh, Noah S.},
abstractNote = {Federal hydropower plants account for approximately half of installed US conventional hydropower capacity, and are an important part of the national renewable energy portfolio. Utilizing the strong linear relationship between the US Geological Survey WaterWatch runoff and annual hydropower generation, a runoff-based assessment approach is introduced in this study to project changes in annual and regional hydropower generation in multiple power marketing areas. Future climate scenarios are developed with a series of global and regional climate models, and the model output is bias-corrected to be consistent with observed data for the recent past. Using this approach, the median decrease in annual generation at federal projects is projected to be less than –2 TWh, with an estimated ensemble uncertainty of ±9 TWh. Although these estimates are similar to the recently observed variability in annual hydropower generation, and may therefore appear to be manageable, significantly seasonal runoff changes are projected and it may pose significant challenges in water systems with higher limits on reservoir storage and operational flexibility. Lastly, future assessments will be improved by incorporating next-generation climate models, by closer examination of extreme events and longer-term change, and by addressing the interactions among hydropower and other water uses.},
doi = {10.1016/j.energy.2014.11.066},
journal = {Energy (Oxford)},
number = 2015,
volume = 80,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}
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Impact of climate variability on hydropower generation in an un-gauged catchment: Erathna run-of-the-river hydropower plant, Sri Lanka
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