  We use three ensemble members of the EURO-CORDEX project and their data on
surface wind speeds, solar irradiation as well as water runoff with a spatial
resolution of 12 km and a temporal resolution of 3 hours under representative
concentration pathway 8.5 (associated with a temperature increase of 2.6 to 4.8
degrees C until the end of the century) until 2100 to investigate the impact of
climate change on wind, solar and hydro resources and consequently on a highly
renewable and cost-optimal European power system. The weather data is
transformed into power, different aspects such as capacity factors and
correlation lengths are investigated and the resulting implications for the
European power system are discussed. In addition, we compare a 30-node model of
Europe with historical and climate change-affected data, where investments in
generation, transmission and storage facilities are optimised for deep carbon
dioxide reductions. Differences in capacity factors among European countries
are more strongly emphasized at the end of the century compared to historic
data. This results in a significantly increased photovoltaic share in the
cost-optimal power system. System costs increase by 5% until the end of the
century and the impact of climate change on these costs is of similar magnitude
as differences between the ensemble members.
