Spatial and temporal correlation analysis of wind power between different provinces in China

China has different topographic conditions and multiple weather systems due to its vast geographic areas. As a result, the geographic diversity between different provinces is potential to mitigate wind power variability. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal correlations of wind power on the province level. The results show that a lower correlation is observed for greater distances and smaller time scales. Correlation between different provinces is stronger than that between different wind farms within the same distance. The correlation coefficient of wind power decays more rapidly in China than in Europe and North America within the same distance. The correlation coefficients of wind power variation are generally smaller than the correlation coefficients of instantaneous wind power, and a positive linear relationship is observed between these coefficients. The temporal correlations of wind power between different provinces are analyzed as well. The time lags of wind power between different province pairs are obtained.