Meteorological drivers and triggering mechanisms of wind and solar electricity droughts: insights from China’s first provincial-level dataset

Extreme weather-induced wind and solar electricity droughts (WSEDs) can seriously disrupt the electricity balance in power systems with high shares of variable renewable energy (VRE). However, limited long-term VRE output data have prevented systematic investigation of WSED characteristics and quantitative identification of their meteorological drivers, particularly in countries such as China and India, where VRE deployment has only recently accelerated. Therefore, this study collected VRE output records from 2016 to 2024 for the Yunnan provincial power grid, one of China’s earliest large-scale VRE deployment regions. Based on a novel mathematical formulation of WSEDs, we established China’s first provincial-level WSED dataset. Analysis revealed that wind and solar electricity droughts occurred approximately nine and six times per year, respectively. During the study period, most identified events lasted 2–4 days, while compound droughts remained considerably rarer, occurring about twice annually. Wind electricity droughts were primarily triggered by wind speed deficits exceeding 55.5% below monthly averages or smaller deficits accompanied by temperature declines. Solar electricity droughts required radiation drops exceeding 65.2% below normal or milder deficits accompanied by temperature reductions of 15.9%, with precipitation further lowering triggering thresholds. The results provide new support for Yunnan Power Grid in China to defend against WSEDs.