Projections of climate change in streamflow and affluent natural energy in the Brazilian hydroelectric sector of CORDEX models

Abstract

ABSTRACT Long-term water and energy planning makes it possible to reduce social and economic impacts by avoiding episodes of interruption in water and electricity supply, essential services for several sectors. Thus, the analyses proposed by this study aimed at identifying the impact of climate change on naturalised streamflows and Affluent Natural Energy (NEA) projections for the Brazilian electricity sector using six models of the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) project, based on the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios for the 21st century. The streamflows for the 24 stations representing the National Interconnected System (NIS) were estimated through the concentrated hydrological model SMAP (Soil Moisture Accounting Procedure), while the streamflows for the other stations that comprise the NIS were obtained by linear regression. The streamflows, as well as the productivity of the reservoirs, were used to calculate the NEA. The results showed that most of the models project possible reductions in annual naturalized streamflows and NEA for the three periods analyzed and for the North, Northeast and Southeast/Midwest sectors. Meanwhile, in the Southern sector, for the period 2010-2039, most of the models indicated an increase in the annual naturalized streamflows and NEA.