I was just perusing the blogosphere for the latest news in the green energy space to get other view points, keep up to date with what’s going on and possibly pin point some investment ideas I haven’t thought of.  I don’t think I’ll be using the TheStreet.com as a source of good info.  I came across a post at TheStreet.com calling smart grid investments “not so smart”.  I had to read it twice to make sure I was reading it correctly.  Perhaps it was a misprint?  No. 

In an age where web sites are are just looking for content 24/7, often times you see articles written with little thought behind it.  The goal is to just get some keywords in there, bring in some traffic and sell ads.  It’s common on smaller sites, but should be inexcusable on a larger site such as the TheStreet.com. 

The writer of this smart grid article, claims that investing in the smart grid isn’t so smart.  He highlights the efforts of Google, IBM and GE in the smart grid space and dismisses them (correctly so) as too big to be good good investments in the smart grid space.  He then goes on to highlight Itron (ITRI) which is the 800lb gorilla in the smart meter arena and dismisses it as “over priced”.  Next up is ABB, the global electrical component supplier which may play a role in upgrading the grid.  I’d have to agree that it’s too soon to tell whether they’ll benefit big from an electrical grid upgrade.

Here’s the problem…. there is no mention of the smaller smart grid plays such as COMV, ELON, ENOC, POWR and TLVT.  The final paragraph of the article reads..

“The government’s infrastructure investment and the upgrades to our antiquated system is a terrific story for our continued march towards better energy management and independence. It just doesn’t make for a great investment story right now.”

To that I say take a look at the return of the small cap smart grid plays I’ve been highlighting here for over a year now.  There is big opportunity in the smart grid space now and well into the future.