TITLE:
Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Climate Change Impact on Future Wind Power Potential in Burundi (East Africa)
AUTHORS:
Manirakiza Célestin, Lawin Agnidé Emmanuel, Lamboni Batablinlè, Niyongendako Marc
KEYWORDS:
Burundi, Wind Power, Changes, Future Climate
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Climate Change,
Vol.8 No.2,
June
6,
2019
ABSTRACT: This paper assessed climate change impact on future wind power potential across highlands and western lowlands of Burundi. Hourly observed and MERRA-2 data were considered for the historical period 1980-2016, and a Multi-model ensemble for future projections data of eight selected Regional Climate Models under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 over the periods 2019-2040 and 2071-2100 was used. Variability and trend analysis were adopted using standardized index and Mann-Kendall’s test, respectively while wind power density (WPD) in quartiles was adopted for changes distribution. As results, diurnal wind speeds (WS) were higher from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, while monthly wind speeds reached the maximum during summer time. An increasing trend in WPD was detected all over the studied area. Over the period 2019-2040, the lowest WPD change is projected at Northern Highlands (NHL) under RCP 4.5 with 28.04 W·m−2 while the highest WPD change of 47.35 W·m−2 is projected under RCP 8.5 at Southern Imbo plain (SIP). As for the period 2071-2100, the highest change is expected at SIP under RCP 8.5 with 152.39 W·m−2 while the minimum change of 83.96 W·m−2 is projected under RCP 4.5 at NHL. The findings showed that areas nearby the Lake Tanganyika are expected to have high positive WDP changes.