The Obama administration has taken a lot of heat for creating climate change rules that bypass Congress. But recent court decisions are bolstering the president’s clean air agenda – and they come at a crucial time.

U.S. electricity markets face years of higher prices as clean-air regulations shut more coal-fired power plants than earlier forecast, cutting supply and forcing producers to rely more on natural gas.

A new report by utility and finance experts contains positive news for the environment, our air and our (and our utilities’) pocketbooks — the economics of electric power resources have made zero-emissions energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies the most financially attractive options to meet the nation’s future energy demands.

Although the U.S. made it through a quiet 2014 Atlantic hurricane season this year, it doesn’t mean we’re out of the waters. Natural disasters are an ongoing threat to our infrastructure, and utilities need to be conscious of the present state and future of our power grid. Fortunately, in recent years many utilities across the country have recognized the importance of being prepared for major storms, and have been actively researching and implementing solutions to prepare for the next big one.

Many businesses can now perform the traditional functions of an electric utility — provide affordable, reliable, resilient power to homes and businesses. The barriers to entry in the business have fallen. For instance, a home with rooftop solar panels, batteries, and gas-based generators may choose to be grid-independent. Even when homes decide to remain grid-tied, utilities face falling demand and revenue, and the possibility of future grid-defection. Further, competing electricity solutions can emerge quickly, and not one-home-at-a-time — microgrids can offer community, village, or campus-level solutions.

Turns out that Americans are a bit overly optimistic about the role that renewable energy plays in the U.S. The average American believes that 20 percent of the country’s energy use comes from renewables—11 percent from solar and 9 percent from wind.

Unusually still weather in the upper Midwest and Great Plains in late 2018 has already taken a bite out of earnings at NextEra Energy Inc. and Avangrid Inc., which both operate large wind farms. Other wind generators have yet to report fourth-quarter results, including Pattern Energy Group Inc., TerraForm Power Inc. and Clearway Energy Inc.

The Indian government’s Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved measures to promote the hydropower sector that include declaring large hydropower projects to be part of the non-solar renewable purchase obligation (RPO).

San Francisco Mayor London Breed wants to use PG&E Corp.’s bankruptcy to take over some of the company’s assets for the city’s power needs, a move that would shake up California’s largest utility and remake the state’s energy landscape.

Buildings account for nearly four-tenths of U.S. energy consumption through heating, cooling and other electricity use, according to the Energy Information Administration. And if that energy comes from fossil fuels, it releases more greenhouse gases that drive human-caused climate change.

This week energy developer BayWa r.e. published its Energy Report 2019, which surveyed 1,200 European corporations about their attitudes toward renewable energy.

Ameren is preparing to test a Canadian company’s software that could someday help usher in a radically different business model for the utility.

As the world responds to the challenges of climate change, energy systems are evolving, and evolving fast. The past 10 years have seen the rise (and dramatic cost reduction) of renewable energy such as wind and solar, to the extent that they are no longer considered alternative energy. They have become mainstream energy sources. Now, what will be the “next big thing” as the world shifts to a low carbon future?

While the industry is welcoming more women leaders, its rank-and-file workforce is still a lot like those at fossil-fuel companies: white and dominated by men. The lack of gender diversity is being driven by manufacturing jobs, and that means women are now missing out on the biggest jobs boom America has to offer.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the twin forces of privatization and deregulation of public infrastructure services ascended to a global paradigm of progress and development. Government management of services such as telecommunications, transportation, water, and energy was deemed inefficient, underperforming, and monopolistic. Private industry – accountable to the profits and losses of an open market and, thus, believed more efficient than government – was proclaimed the better way for consumer choice and a more efficient use of taxpayers’ expenses.

Fossil fuels, long regarded for their high-energy return on investment, are not as efficient as once thought. In fact, their final yields are not much better than those of renewable options, according to a new study.

The national average price of wind power purchase agreements dropped to below 2 cents/kWh in 2018, according to the annual Wind Technologies Market Report released by the U.S. Department of Energy.

For many low income college students, school closures due to COVID-19 has affected the way they feed themselves. Read more...

'Hollywood' actor Samara Weaving lets us in on all of the movies and television she's been watching during quarantine.   Read more...

Australia’s food supply chain is a world leader in food quality. This gives Australian food producers a vital competitive advantage in a world where consumers seek assurances that the produce they purchase meets stringent biosecurity standards. With top-grade food safety standards, reliable supply chains and an ingrained receptiveness to new technology, the Australian agriculture and food industry provides a vast range of opportunities for global investors.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

The European Network and Information Security Agency [ENISA] has launched information security awareness videos in 23 European languages.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

The European Network and Information Security Agency [ENISA] has launched information security awareness videos in 23 European languages.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

The European Network and Information Security Agency, ENISA, has compiled a list of existing initiatives focused on finding and preventing software vulnerabilities.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

The FDIC has announced a series of steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and facilitate recovery in areas of Illinois affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes the rising costs of ransomware attacks and the latest victims. Also featured: An assessment of Australia's new contact-tracing app designed to help battle the spread of COVID-19, and a discussion of applying the "zero trust" model to the remote workforce.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.

Attacks Traced to Gangs Wielding Nefilim, Snake Strains
Ransomware attacks hit at least four large organizations around the world this week, including a hospital group in Europe that has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ransomware Gangs Keep Pwning Poorly Secured Remote Desktop Protocol Endpoints
In honor of World Password Day, here's a task for every organization that uses remote desktop protocol: Ensure that all of your organization's internet-facing RDP ports have a password - and that it's complex and unique.