Smart grid tech player Silver Spring receives a cool $75M

Despite the ongoing financial meltdown, people still are throwing money around for greentech/cleantech companies. For now, at least.

Silver Spring Networks, which develops Smart Grid technology, said it has received an additional $75 million in funding intended for global expansion. The investment round was led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, but it also includes Foundation Capital, JVB Properties and Northgate Capital.

Here's some of my past coverage of Silver Spring, so you have a sense of what they do. But the thing that the venture capitalists said gave them comfort was the fact that Silver Spring boasts some live customers (not just pilots) for its energy management products. Those customers include Florida Power & Light Company, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Modesto Irrigation District, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Consumers Energy and so on.

One key differentiator for Silver Spring lies in its ability to support multiple applications and multiple protocols with its flagship product, Smart Energy Network. As an example, the company just finished phase one of interoperability testing with S&C Electric Company, which sells the IntelliTeam II Automatic Restoration System (basically a solution for restoring power to line segments without overloading a system).