The scale and relatively low fixed costs of gas-fired generating units make them a logical choice for providing backup power for intermittent renewable technologies such as photovoltaics and wind in order to enhance their value. For example, a co-located simple-cycle gas turbine and wind farm might achieve a combined capacity factor as high as 75%.⁴⁶

In contrast to backup power, which generally operates only when the primary power source does not, natural gas and renewable energy also can be used simultaneously in the same unit. In one form of hybrid system, solar thermal, biomass or geothermal systems co-fire with natural gas. In the future, biomass gasification may supply a fuel stream to supplement the bottoming cycle of a combined-cycle natural gas turbine.⁴⁷

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