Recent discoveries in materials science and associated means of fabrication are yielding capabilities that have the potential to transform prospects for the broad scale adoption of solar energy technologies as a major source of electricity. These advances flow both from the discovery of new material systems as well as the emergence of new ways for using well established materials in forms that can enhance performance, lower cost, and facilitate deployment/installation. As a result, it is no longer a fanciful thought that sustainable solar energy technologies can, in the near term, provide an abundant and low cost contributor to a nation's energy needs.