That's opposite of my knowledge about this but I'm a decade+ out of date, so possibly this isn't as much a factor as it used to be, but the cost of the ground was a substantial factor in solar installations in days past.

It is one of the most limiting factors for solar, when everything is accounted for.

You either put it really far away (increasing transmission losses and right of way issues for the much longer lines), or you put it closer and then have to deal with expensive land or difficult environmental reviews.

It is not AS BIG of an issue as it could be - for instance 30% efficient cells vs 23% efficient cells, the lower efficiency’s cost vs space usually favors the lower efficiency, but it’s still very strong overall.

As long as we have land for corn as feedstock for Ethanol, land is not an issue. You get a lot more energy from PV than from the equivalent acreage of plants.

All of the world's existing pasturage is prime territory for solar installations. Adding solar to a pasture makes it better pasture, reduces evaporation, and cools the panels vs. desert installation.

Plants generally max out the amount of solar radiation they can absorb early in the day, so are not handicapped at all by partial shade. In fact, most benefit from it in numerous ways.

Installed between rows in active farmland, solar reduces water demand by up to 50%, which is a really huge benefit. Reducing heat and evaporation stress improves crop yields. So, a farm could move from barely getting by to solidly profitable by installing solar, even before selling the power. The panels just need to be placed so as not to interfere with driving a tractor between them.

So, no, there is absolutely no shortage of land for solar installations.

Sure, but you also don't need dedicated land for solar, giving cost savings options vs other plants that need dedicated space. There are so many available installation locations that overlap roofs, parking lots, even projects sharing farmland, reservoirs/canal paths.

All of which drive up costs per installed megawatt. You’re talking about marginal (as in, in the margins), which can produce significant power - but is expensive and has side effects on habitations that many people are currently willing to overlook but won’t be the case forever.

Racking and wiring is one of the dominant costs in any solar installation, and a big flat desert is cheaper both to install and maintain than almost every other option by a pretty hefty margin.

As far as I can tell the “side effects” are beneficial synergies - I love having shade in parking lots for example. You should also be saving on real estate costs if you already had a primary use for the real estate.

Maybe the solar cost efficiency taken alone is reduced, but the system efficiency of the real estate use goes up as does the ownership value for the property owner.