Thin-film solar cell maker Nanosolar has started commercial production and made its first shipment. To help mark the occasion, it's celebrating by selling the second panel on eBay. The first one of these commercial, "printed on" panels stays at Nanosolar for exhibit and the third is going to the Tech Museum in San Jose.

Martin Roscheisen blogs about why this marks an important milestone for his company and the technology behind it:

- the world’s first printed thin-film solar cell in a commercial panel product;

- the world’s first thin-film solar cell with a low-cost back-contact capability;

- the world’s lowest-cost solar panel – which we believe will make us the first solar manufacturer capable of profitably selling solar panels at as little as $.99/Watt;

The first commercial shipment is going to a power plant in Germany. Here's that eBay auction in case you're interested. It's already up to $7,000!