Researchers at Brookhaven National Labs and the University of Florida have come up with a way of creating polymer nanowires with specific application to solar power systems:
In conventional solar panels the energy from the sun is excites electrons in a semiconducting material such as silicon, creating the current flow. Replacing the silicon with polymer nanowires would make the solar cell much lighter, and eventually cheaper.
The so-called plastic solar cells can be made much bigger and are also more flexible, making them more versatile. Normal solar panels are rigid, expensive and their size is constrained by manufacturing techniques.
The report is from The Register which (a) doesn't give a lot of details or useful links, and (b) doesn't have the best reputation as a tech journal. Anyone have a more detailed -- and reliable -- link for the story?