There are ways to make deserts, eh, more livable. Various kinds of mosses, correct usage of water for feeding plants (to reduce sandstorms), and solar farms there occupy territory both not in huge demand and use some of that excess energy.

That’s not what’s happening now, but the technologies have been tried successfully and work. I like shitting on Israel for their moral standing (the opposite to that, I mean), but their approaches to managing deserts do work, and they are not too wasteful with water.