The smart money seems to be going to smart technology that can help increase energy efficiency, with three companies that make systems that can help consumers and utilities cut costs raising financing over the past week.

London's Onzo raised £2 million, Arlington, Va.-based GridPoint pulled in $15 million, and Tendril Networks in Boulder, Colo., received $12 million.

Onzo makes consumer units to monitor energy consumption, and GridPoint produces a smart grid platform for utilities.

Tendril is a manufacturer of wireless sensors and networks for energy efficiency applications.

Rounding out a long list of deals were companies in solar, ethanol, water and more.

Deals we saw over the past week:

• Montreal-based Sofame Technologies (TSX: SDW), a manufacturer of commercial-industrial heat recovery equipment, received $1 million in proceeds from an initial closing of its $2 million private placement. A second closing is expected to be held on or about April 11. Sofame said it completed the first tranche of its previously announced private placement by issuing 3.3 million units to shareholders of Paris-based Soffimat, Sofame's recently appointed distributor for France, at an issue price of $0.305.
• Southridge Enterprises (OTC: SRDG), a Dallas-based renewable energy company, closed a $6.6 million private placement with Nexus Lotts Capital. Southridge said it plans to use the cash for the construction of its previously announced sugarcane-based ethanol plant in El Salvador and a land purchase in Texas. The company said it's also finalizing a $25 million financing while awaiting permits for its ethanol plant construction in Quitman County, Miss.
• Germany's RWE is pushing its sale of American Water Works back on the market, hoping to raise as much as $1.9 billion through an offering on the New York Stock Exchange. RWE plans to offer 64 million shares of American Water Works at $24 to $26 each, with the underwriters getting an option to buy up to 9.6 million additional shares. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch were named as joint book runners on the deal, set to float under the symbol AWK (see Cleantech water deals diving into rough market).
• San Leandro, Calif.-based Energy Recovery, which makes energy recovery devices for the water desalination industry, is also hitting the public markets, aiming pull in up to $175 million on the Nasdaq. Backed by two Norwegian investment groups, Energy Recovery said it pulled in $35 million in revenue in 2007. Citigroup and Credit Suisse are listed as the lead underwriters on Energy Recovery's offering, but terms of the share sale, set to list under the ticker ERII, have not been disclosed (see Cleantech water deals diving into rough market).
• Illumitex, an Austin, Texas-based provider of solid-state lighting, has reportedly called down $5.25 million of a $10.5 million Series B round. New Enterprise Associates and Aweida Capital were joined by return backer DFJ Mercury, according to the report.
• HgCapital acquired a 75 percent stake in Swedish wind farm Havsnäs. The deal is valued at €185 million, including a €127 million construction and term project finance loan from CommerzBank, ING Bank and NordLB. Renewable Energy Systems is holding onto the remaining 25 percent stake in Havsnäs.
• Novinium, a Seattle-based provider of technology to extend the life of electric transmission cables, raised $6 million in Series C funding led by Nomura's New Energy & Clean Technology Ventures. Novinium's primary products are novel fluids, methods, and tools to inject stranded underground cable, which the company said rejuvenates and extends the reliable life of the cable by up to 40 years.
• Nomura's New Energy & Clean Technology Ventures arm also led a $32.4 million Series C round for Houston-based DeepFlex, which designs and manufactures flexible pipe. DeepFlex said it's flexible pipe, which can be used in ultra-deep water oil and gas production, does not use steel, which is energy intensive to produce. The company said its low weight, highly-insulated, corrosion-free pipes can enable new, lower cost solutions for transporting fluids or carbon capture and sequestration.
• Range Fuels, a Broomfield, Colo.-based developer of cellulosic ethanol production technology, confirmed that it raised more than $100 million in Series B funding. Reports have pegged the total at $130 million. Passport Capital led the round, joined by BlueMountain, Khosla Ventures, Leaf Clean Energy and Pacific Corporate Group.
• Palo Alto, Calif.'s Nanosolar, a developer of low cost solar panels, raised $50 million from French renewable energy group EDF Energies Nouvelles. The funding is part of a strategic agreement under which Nanosolar will start supply panels to EDF next year. Nanosolar previously received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and raised $100 million in venture capital funding.
• Clean Mobile, a Munich-based manufacturer of fuel cell powered drives for small vehicles like scooters and wheel chairs, raised €3.3 million in a first round of funding. Earlybird Venture Capital and Silicon Valley Technology Group co-led the round, with participation from High Tech Gründer Fonds.
• ReliOn, a fuel cell maker based in Spokane, Wash., pulled in $16.9 million in Series C funding. Investor Pacific Corporate Group was joined by return backers Chrysalix Ventures, Enterprise Partners, Wall Street Technology Partners and Oak Investment Partners. ReliOn previously raised approximately $45 million.
• 6N Silicon, a Mississauga, Ontario-based supplier of solar-grade silicon to the photovoltaic industry, received $20 million in second-round funding. Good Energies led the round, joined by previous investors Ventures West Management and Yaletown Venture Partners.
• Onzo, a London-based energy management and carbon monitoring company, raised £2 million in a round led by Scottish & Southern Energy and Sigma Capital Group. Onzo, which plans to launch its energy display products later this year, said Scottish & Southern placed initial orders worth over £7 million and secured exclusive rights to Onzo's products and services covering the U.K. and Ireland.
• Arlington, Va.-based GridPoint raised $15 million in a Series D follow-on investment from the Quercus Trust. GridPoint makes a smart grid platform to enable utilities to better manage power consumption. The company said its platform provides protection from power outages, increases energy efficiency and integrates renewable energy.
• Tendril Networks, a Boulder, Colo.-based maker of wireless sensors and networks to monitor and improve energy efficiency, raised $12 million in a Series B round. RRE Ventures led the round, with return backers including Access Venture Partners, Appian Ventures and Vista Ventures.

Browse previous deals here.

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