Solarmer Energy, an offshoot from University of California-Los Angeles research, has attracted the attention of industry groups and government organizations for its inexpensive plastic solar panels.

This week, the company announced that its panels had achieved 7.9 percent efficiency in National Renewable Energy Laboratory tests. "Our efforts in R&D have now put us in a great position to launch a competitive product based on plastic solar panels," said Woolas Hsieh, Solarmer founder and president.

The NREL tests - called an achievement with "special meaning" by Solarmer's principals - are another recognition of the company's achievements. Solarmer's plastic solar panels have won accolades from the Department of Energy, the Office of Naval Research and electronics group FlexTech Alliance in the past year.

Solarmer's efficiency achievement "firmly establishes [its] leadership in the organic photovoltaic industry," said Hsieh.

The company, founded just four years ago, touted the NREL test results in various forums this week. It had a presence at the Printed Electronics USA and Photovoltaics USA conferences in California. Researcher Gang Li discussed Solarmer solar panels at the fall meeting of the Material Research Society in Boston, as well.