VentureBeat

Here’s a roundup of the latest green technology developments.

SoloPower announces investors — The Milpitas, Calif. make of photovoltaic solar cells and modules ,said it has $30 million more in a second round of capital. That adds to its previous $10 million. It’s well-funded, but not near nearly as well as some other players using the similar material, copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS), to make newer, low-cost solar cells. Nanosolar, Heliovolt, Solyndra and Miasole have all raised significantly more cash. We reported SolorPower’s funding yesterday, but the company hadn’t disclosed investor names. Today it released those names: Convexa Capital, which led the investment, Scatec, Spencer Energy and existing investors Crosslink Capital, Firsthand Capital Management and Musea Ventures.

MWOE Solar, yet another “thin-film” solar panel maker, raises $7M — The company, based in Ohio, received the funding from Emerald Technology Ventures and NGP Energy Technology Partners. Like all the companies mentioned above, it uses a thin-film technology. Thin-film refers to the thin layer of CIGS or other material deposited onto a substrate, which makes solar panels more flexible than traditional silicon-based solar technology (see image above, which comes from MWOE’s site).

SNTech, low-power motor maker, raises $1.2M — The company, of Seoul, Korea, makes low-power brushless DC motors for household appliances. SAIL Venture Partners won a quarter ownership of the company, in return for the investment (VentureWire; subscription required).