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It’s that sentimental time of year again – the holidays are the natural time to take stock and be grateful for all of the good in life and appreciate those who bring joy to the world.

Cleantech, an industry that is not only experiencing growth, but also one that creates a win-win situation for seemingly long-time rivals – big business and the environment, has much to express gratitude for.

Cleantech is particularly grateful for:

* The priority environmental well-being has taken: from business decisions to government policy, investment choices to consumer behavior.

* All the ingenious and hard-working scientists, technologists and visionaries who without their superior skills, innovative spirit and undying determination, the technologies that could shape our future might have remained a passing scribble on a scrap of paper.

* Investors and entrepreneurs, perhaps the most important group in shaping the cleantech industry, taking innovative ideas out of the labs and turning them into the promising companies of the future.

* The US government, which rejoined the global renewable energy movement with the extension of the renewable energy ITC (Investment Tax Credit). This gave renewables, and especially the solar industry, a policy framework from which to build business models and plan future projects.

* The rising, fluctuating and generally unstable energy prices that expose how vulnerable the US is as it continues to remain dependent on fossil fuels rather than properly utilizing its abundant domestic renewable energy resources.

* Everyday people implementing energy efficiency in their homes and lifestyles.  This has caused a drop in home energy use, in some areas of the US, for the first time in 40 years.

* Influential thought leaders like Al Gore (and yes, even surprising allies like T. Boone Pickens) and cleantech advocates who generate awareness of climate change’s devastating consequences and inspire those who have the power to mitigate those negative impacts.

* And most importantly, Mother Earth for her mysterious beauty, munificent hospitality and endless solutions to all of humankind’s wants and needs.

Out in the blogosphere, Antenna Group client ExRo Technologies recently hit the big time. Around 1:30am PST, on November 23, 2008 a Sacramento, CA gentleman who goes by the name of BlakSwitchBlade saw ExRo’s Variable Input Electrical Generator, or VIEG, profiled in MIT Tech Review and thought it worthy of a digg.

VIEG: ExRo’s Variable Input Electrical Generator

The VIEG is a generator designed specifically for the renewable energy sector,  that in lab simulations has shown the potential to increase turbine efficiency by double-digit margins.

Antenna Group client Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Akeena Solar, represented the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in its support of the Bay Area building the nation’s first network of charging stations for the electric vehicle. The initiative received a $1 Billion investment from the Palo Alto based company, Better Place, which has built similar charging networks in Israel, Denmark and Australia.

San Francisco Mayor Newsom speaking at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

San Francisco Mayor Newsom says even though he drives a hybrid, he feels it doesn’t go far enough (he’s currently on the waiting list for a Tesla), and San Francisco should do what it can to help all area residents overcome the hurdles of electric vehicle ownership. Left from the podium, Newsom is joined by Shai Aggasi, CEO of Better Place Bay Area, California State Senator Mark Leno, Akeena CEO Barry Cinnamon and Jim Wunderman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Council.

Akeena Solar CEO Barry Cinnamon shakes hands with noted environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Akeena Solar CEO Barry Cinnamon spoke on behalf of the Silicon Valley Business Leadership Group at the press conference. Driving up from his company’s headquarters in Los Gatos, Cinnamon said he enjoyed seeing the plethora of roof-mounted photovoltaic systems on homes (more than 66 percent of the state’s solar systems are on homes in Northern California). According to the SVLG, the investment from Better Place could allow Silicon Valley to distinguish itself as an innovation hub for electric vehicles.

America’s big three automakers were on Capital Hill recently, attempting to gain support for a Federal bailout of their struggling companies. They say because of their dire financial circumstances, they are cutting back on the development of more fuel-efficient cars. General Motors has delayed the development of its Saturn Vue, a gas-electric hybrid, and Chrysler is halting production of its “well-reviewed” Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen hybrids for the next few months. Plus, it’s closing the Delaware plant where they are built.