Different Approaches to Study the Adaptability of High-Elevation Hydropower Systems to Climate Change: The Case of SMUD's Upper American River Project

Two methods have been proposed to study the effects that climate change could have on the operations of high-elevation hydropower facilities in California. In the first approach, a single regional hydropower system was modeled in detail in conventional volumetric units and in the second approach which was based on energy units more than 150 hydropower systems in the California Sierra Nevada were modeled in less detail. To find the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed methodologies, the developers of both method have teamed up to do a comparative study on the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's (SMUD) hydropower facilities. Better understanding of the differences and similarities of the two approaches makes it possible to more accurately extrapolate the impacts of climate change at the SMUD facility to other systems in California's Sierra Nevada. The results show great similarity between the proposed methods in terms of showing the changes in key variables such as energy generation and revenues. The limitations and advantages of both methods are also discussed.