[MentatOnMelange]

Fascinating! It seems very far fetched to think this could lead to an ecosystem change, since deserts are very large and can't be covered in solar panels, and even a small layer of topsoil takes hundreds of years to build up.

I wonder if this could be a way to "halt" desert expansion though? Encroaching desertification is a real long-term problem in some places and while planting vegetation hasn't worked, maybe solar could!

[scottaino]

There is an ongoing project to stop desertification in the Sahara that seems to be successful. It involves planting vegetation in a specific configuration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Wall_(Africa)