Popular Science has awarded its Innovation of the Year and Greentech awards to Nanosolar's PowerSheet. This cheap (comparatively) solar sheet contains no silicon, which is great considering the constraints on silicon supplies, and they're manufactured in a process that bears a striking similarity to a newspaper press.

And, it turns out, that the product is *this close* to mass production, meaning that early 2008 should see the first commercial installations of the product.

In San Jose, Nanosolar has built what will soon be the world’s largest solar-panel manufacturing facility. CEO Martin Roscheisen claims that once full production starts early next year, it will create 430 megawatts’ worth of solar cells a year -- more than the combined total of every other solar plant in the U.S. The first 100,000 cells will be shipped to Europe, where a consortium will be building a 1.4-megawatt power plant next year.

Also be sure to check out the two animations that vividly display how the product works, along with the other greentech winners.

Who knows, maybe your next roof will be draped in the stuff.