@cstross I was watching a video about this in China desert, and kind of by accident, they found that the panels provide a place for dew to condense.

Then it runs down the panel and that causes enough dew drops to concentrate in one spot to irrigate the base of the panel for plants to grow.

Without the panels the drew had no where to condense and when it didn't accumulate enough drops to sustain plants.

Kind of an interesting side effect