Why is this worth being aware of? These Israeli scientists have done something no one else has. They have come up with a way, well proven in theory but not in a lab until them, to make thin film solar cells as efficient as the silicon ones.
Silicon ones, in general use are about 20% efficient; the new ones coming off the line anyway. Thin film ones top out in the 8-10% range. Thin film ones, though, are WAY cheaper than the heavier silicon alternatives. Traditional solar cells are made almost like computer chips, and thus quite a bit more expensive than thin film ones which are made in a way quite similar to newspaper printing.
One thing that I found particularly interesting is that they can, using their new technique, tune the solar cell to the spectrum of light coming from the sun. That, too, will make them even more efficient. Sunlight is mostly green, which is why humans see that color the best, and that's why the first computer monitors were all green and black. (Most folks don't know that tidbit, but it's true.)
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