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Standard Disclaimer: I am not an expert, but aerodynamics was my field of study, so I have some training at least..
As in all flows, the answer is "it depends". It will vary with each gust of wind actually. Aerodynamic force is an interesting beast. Most of what you observe is not due to "frictional" forces but rather from pressure gradient (differences).
So, even though you might increase frictional drag by exposing the "edges", you are also decreasing the pressure gradient force by allowing the flow a more direct path to the low pressure area (downward side of the plate) and at the same time decreasing the amount of cross "wash" from adjacent panels. The thickness of the boundary layer and the turbulence level will have effects the amount of force as well, but like I said, that's going to vary with each and every gust.
Generally, my inclination is that you will encounter less force on the array mount by putting space in between each panel. But that's just my 2 cents.
Eric
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