By now, you know that the smart grid is one of the main recipients of stimulus dollars.

Just a few weeks ago, Obama made a big public announcement about the $3.4 billion being used to install smart meters in 18 million homes and offices around the country.

That sum will be divided by 100 different projects in grants ranging from $400,000 to $200 million.

Not only could this mean a new smart meter for your home. . . it could also mean a windfall investment opportunity.

Because that $3.4 billion will soon be paid to companies that specialize in making smart meters, automated substations, advanced transformers, and all the software that goes with them.

These are the same smart grid companies we've been following for years here in Green Chip Review.

A Bold Prediction Come True

In the last trading week of 2008, I told you that "2009 is being hailed as the year of the smart grid." In that same article, I showed you a chart of three smart grid companies. Here are those companies and what they were trading for late last year:

• Comverge (NASDAQ: COMV), $4.46

• Echelon (NASDAQ: ELON), $7.60

• EnerNOC (NASDAQ: ENOC), $7.04

And here is their 2009 performance:

Each has at least doubled. And the biggest winner, EnerNOC, has gone from low $7s to mid-$30s — more than a 300% rise.

Year of the smart grid, indeed.

Smart Grid in 2010

Of course, 2009's performance doesn't do you much good if you weren't invested. So let's make sure you're ready for what's store in 2010.

For starters, the smart grid is now a major investment theme. While early investors enjoyed near-universal bullishness, today's smart grid success will require more research and knowledge of unexploited opportunities.

To be clear, I wouldn't expect EnerNOC to climb another 300% in the next 12 months. Instead, we'll have to seek out the next round of smart grid winners.

And I have a few ideas in mind. . .

The masses are currently infatuated with smart meters. And that's understandable, since that's the technology the administration and the media have chosen to focus on.

To stay one step ahead, we'll now have to focus on smart grid sectors that will receive secondary and tertiary benefits.

Wires, Lights, and Energy Networks

The introduction of smart meters is only the first leg of the smart grid profit race.

Remember, executives from both GE and Cisco have alluded that the smart grid will be bigger than the internet. That means there's still a lot of development and profits yet to come.

And, since the smart grid is essentially "the Internet for energy," networks are quickly emerging as a central theme.

In a nutshell, this means all of your devices will eventually communicate with each other and with the utility. Substations, meters, appliances, chargers, and lighting systems will soon all be smart, meaning they'll store information and share it to ensure maximum cost and energy efficiency.

The next round of profits will come from the companies taking these networks from theory to reality.

This will surely benefit companies like ESCO Technologies (NYSE: ESE) and Telvent Git (NASDAQ: TLVT). ESCO offers two-way power line communication systems along with the matching software and support. And Telvent specializes in IT solutions for energy management.

Lighting is also going to play a crucial role.

There's opportunity to be had in the transition away from incandescents and toward fluorescents and light emitting diodes (LEDs). And profits will also come from making entire lighting systems more efficient, say in a parking garage, office building, or grocery store freezer.

Companies like Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE), among many others, are already making this happen.

And finally, there's a host of companies pursuing other niche smart grid opportunities. In this coming energy Internet, there will be plenty of demand for switches, routers, wires, and other specialized devices.

The world may have found out about the smart grid in 2009. But 2010 can still be your year to profit from it.

Call it like you see it,

Nick

P.S. I'm heading to GreenBeat next month, self-described as the seminal conference on the Smart Grid, bringing together leading entrepreneurs, investors, utilities, technology executives, and policymakers to accelerate the development of a leaner, more efficient electrical grid. I'll share everything I learn upon my return. If you'd like to read more about the event, click here.