Deserts are about the worst imaginable place for solar panels. The only reason desert solar farms are constructed is that idiot investors think they are a good idea, and pour money into them.
Deserts are a dumb place for panels because the panels get hot and dusty. Heat cuts both conversion efficiency and panel lifetime. Accumulating dust can block as much as 80% of light.
The best place to site panels is floating on reservoirs and canals, where temperature is kept in check. Nobody knows how long floating panels could last. At the same time, they cut evaporative loss and biofouling, and provide complex habitat under for water creatures.
Next best is in farm fields, in rows with room for a tractor and equipment between. There, they cut heat stress and water loss, and run cooler than in desert or on rooftops. Most plants can use only a very limited amount of full sun in a day, and just endure more, welcoming shade. The panels produce year-round, complementing seasonal farm revenue.
A good way to deploy in fields is bifacial panels in vertical fence-rows running north-south to pick up morning and afternoon sun, during peak demand. Panels stay cooler, don't gather dust, and are out of the way of farm equipment; and fence mounts cost less than others. This works well in pasture, too, where livestock keep down weeds and benefit from shelter. (E.g., sheep produce better wool.)
For some crops, growing directly under (near-) horizontal panels protects them from harsh weather, often multiplying yield. A T-shaped mounting is practical here, with room under, and a gap between, for farm equipment.
Since the land is doing something else of value, there is no need to pack panels as tightly as they will go. There is way, way more viable dual-use farmland than could ever be needed for energy, so only the best places for it need be used.
Hydrocarbons are a poor choice of storage medium, because you need a source of carbon to make them, which is then released into the atmosphere when you burn it.
Hydrogen just needs water for feedstock. It is easily stored underground, including in used up fracking fields. It may be transported in liquified form, similar to LNG.
Ammonia needs just water and air as feedstock. It stores in liquid form under light pressure at room temperature, and transports well.
Hydrogen and ammonia are both massively valuable as feedstock for myriad industrial, transport, and agricultural processes, so when your tankage is full, all your excess production may be sold for ready cash.
Deserts are a dumb place for panels because the panels get hot and dusty. Heat cuts both conversion efficiency and panel lifetime. Accumulating dust can block as much as 80% of light.
The best place to site panels is floating on reservoirs and canals, where temperature is kept in check. Nobody knows how long floating panels could last. At the same time, they cut evaporative loss and biofouling, and provide complex habitat under for water creatures.
Next best is in farm fields, in rows with room for a tractor and equipment between. There, they cut heat stress and water loss, and run cooler than in desert or on rooftops. Most plants can use only a very limited amount of full sun in a day, and just endure more, welcoming shade. The panels produce year-round, complementing seasonal farm revenue.
A good way to deploy in fields is bifacial panels in vertical fence-rows running north-south to pick up morning and afternoon sun, during peak demand. Panels stay cooler, don't gather dust, and are out of the way of farm equipment; and fence mounts cost less than others. This works well in pasture, too, where livestock keep down weeds and benefit from shelter. (E.g., sheep produce better wool.)
For some crops, growing directly under (near-) horizontal panels protects them from harsh weather, often multiplying yield. A T-shaped mounting is practical here, with room under, and a gap between, for farm equipment.
Since the land is doing something else of value, there is no need to pack panels as tightly as they will go. There is way, way more viable dual-use farmland than could ever be needed for energy, so only the best places for it need be used.
Hydrocarbons are a poor choice of storage medium, because you need a source of carbon to make them, which is then released into the atmosphere when you burn it.
Hydrogen just needs water for feedstock. It is easily stored underground, including in used up fracking fields. It may be transported in liquified form, similar to LNG.
Ammonia needs just water and air as feedstock. It stores in liquid form under light pressure at room temperature, and transports well.
Hydrogen and ammonia are both massively valuable as feedstock for myriad industrial, transport, and agricultural processes, so when your tankage is full, all your excess production may be sold for ready cash.