Spatiotemporal Co-variability of Surface Climate for Renewable Energy across the Contiguous United States: Role of the North Atlantic Subtropical High
Abstract
The variability of renewable energy supply and drivers of demand across space and time largely determines the energy balance within power systems with a high penetration of renewable technologies. This study examines the joint spatiotemporal variability of summertime climate linked to renewable energy production (precipitation, wind speeds, insolation) and energy demand (temperature) across the contiguous United States (CONUS) between 1948 and 2015. Canonical correlation analysis is used to identify the major modes of joint variability between summer wind speeds and precipitation and related patterns of insolation and temperature. Canonical variates are then related to circulation anomalies to identify common drivers of the joint modes of climate variability. Results show that the first two modes of joint variability between summer wind speeds and precipitation exhibit pan-US dipole patterns with centers of action located in the eastern and central CONUS. Temperature and insolation also exhibit related US-wide dipoles. The relationship between canonical variates and lower-tropospheric geopotential height indicates that these modes are related to variability in the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH). This insight can inform optimal strategies for siting renewables in an interconnected electric grid, and has implications for the impacts of climate variability and change on renewable energy systems.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMPA23C0381D
- Keywords:
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- 1807 Climate impacts;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1880 Water management;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 4319 Spatial modeling;
- NATURAL HAZARDS;
- 4343 Preparedness and planning;
- NATURAL HAZARDS