7 Local Climate Scenarios The hourly weather data used for the integrated model are based on weather data for Boston. In order to be aligned with the above listed Cambium future grid emissions scenarios, we use the 2012 AMY weather file for Boston Logan International Airport which is the basis for the supply and demand profiles in the Cambium scenarios. This is necessary so that extreme heating and cooling periods coincide between the grid and the campus model. The weather file was then morphed for two emission scenarios using the WeatherShift web app developed by Arup. Morphing is a process where a current hourly weather file is combined with a global climate change models so that hourly temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation can be shifted to new levels for different future years. Table 2: Future climate file scenarios Scenario name Description Emission scenario RCP 4.5 (moderate) An intermediate scenario in which emissions peak in 2040, then decline. Most probable baseline scenario without climate policies. Emission scenario RCP 8.5 (extreme) An aggressive scenario in which emissions continue to rise through the end of the century. Thought of as a worst-case scenario. References M. Bamm, et al (2017) WeatherShift Water Tools: Risk-based Resiliency Planning for Drainage Infrastructure Design and Rainfall Harvesting SE Belcher, et al (2005). Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, Constructing Design Weather Data for Future Climates Gagnon, Pieter, Pedro Andres Sanchez Perez, Kodi Obika, Marty Schwarz, James Morris, Jianli Gu, and Jordan Eisenman. 2023. Cambium 2023 Scenario Descriptions and Documentation. National Renewable Energy Laboratory U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2023. Annual Energy Outlook AEO2023
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