The sun output and the earth surface are constant, that's the zero sum resources I was talking about. > Putting solar cells in barren deserts isn't going to di

The sun output and the earth surface are constant, that's the zero sum resources I was talking about. > Putting solar cells in barren deserts isn't going to disrupt local lifeforms simply because there aren't any. No, but it will cool down the places, which will affect winds patterns and rainfall, which can in turn affect life forms at a distance. I suppose you could paint the ground around the pannels black, and carefully chose the panel/reflector density to have a neutral thermal effect.