[genocidicbunny]

> Wouldn’t solar benefit desert ecosystems by providing more shade?

Potentially. Just as likely to destroy the ecosystem though. Barring a few human-caused ones, most deserts have been around for a long time, and the plants and animals that live in them are adapted to them as they are. Maybe additional shade will provide a new niche for some organisms, but it will also disrupt the existing ones.

> I don’t think solar means “paving the desert”

If we take any solar installation of notable size as disrupting the existing system, then the difference between literally and figuratively paving the desert becomes moot.