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Nanostructured and organic semiconductors offer new opportunities for low-cost photovoltaics (PV) and provide prospects for unique solar harvesting applications. In the first part of this talk, I will outline the upper limit of achievable efficiencies with these new technologies to give a clear perspective on the potential market viability for large-scale energy generation and outline the challenges necessary to overcome this threshold. The potential of “Third Generation” concepts accessible to nanostructured PVs (e.g. multi-exciton generation) will be discussed for their potential in reducing thermal losses that can subsequently impact cost structures. In the second part of the talk, I will introduce our pioneering work on developing of a light-weight transparent PV technology that creates a new paradigm for building integrated photovoltaics and that is specifically enabled by the manipulation of near-infrared excitonic semiconductors. I will outline the thermodynamic and practical limits to this class of devices and show our experimental demonstrations aimed at approaching these limits. I will also discuss the complex optimization landscape for enhancing efficiency, transparency, color-rendering, and angular dependence as a function of cell arrangement. These solar cells offer a route to retrofittable integration onto window panes in homes, skyscrapers, and autonomous electronics to enhance the functionality of already utilized transparent surfaces.