According to the AP wire, Konarka, a company trying to harness energy from sunlight and interior light to wirelessly power everything from cell phones to signboards, now has financial backing from the White House.

President Bush’s program to help solar energy compete with conventional electricity sources will help fund Konarka Technologies’ development of flexible plastic solar cell strips — material that could be embedded into the casings of laptop computers and even woven into power-producing clothing to energize digital media players or other electronics. The technology, which received its first Pentagon funding three years ago, offers a lightweight, flexible alternative to conventional rigid photovoltaic cells on glass panels.

The makers also foresees wide use of such technology in the developing world and areas off the electrical grid. That’s exciting news too.