Yes, if you could combine gas generation with district heating, that + solar generation really would fit together neatly. Also, there are projects to do the th

Yes, if you could combine gas generation with district heating, that + solar generation really would fit together neatly. Also, there are projects to do the thermodynamic equivalent of district heating over a single home! i.e. you burn gas to produce electricity, and use the waste heat to heat your house or office. A year or two back British Gas was doing a pilot using a gas boiler with a Stirling Engine to generate electricity (called the Ecogen IIRC). It seems to have been difficult/expensive to maintain, but it's an exciting principle. If you had battery storage for solar during the Summer, you could use that equally to buffer that kind of gas generation in the Winter. It seems to me sufficient solar and battery cost reductions effectively solve electricity generation for everywhere close to the equator. Add in that kind of waste heat boiler, generating electricity at a reasonable cost, and you have a solution for almost the whole planet.