Climate Change Impacts On High Elevation Hydropower Generation In Californias Sierra Nevada

To investigate the possible impacts of climate change on high-elevation hydropower generation in California, a linear programming model of the 11-reservoir hydroelectric system operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in the Upper American River Project was developed. Hydrologic conditions under climate change scenarios were derived from hydrologic results predicted for nearby locations by the Variable Infiltration Capacity model run using climatic output from two general circulation models under two emissions scenarios. Results showed that power generation and revenues dropped under all climate change scenarios, as a consequence of drier hydrologic conditions.