Federal rule to help offset N.C.’s weak building energy code

EFFICIENCY: A new federal rule will help counter North Carolina’s weak building energy conservation code by requiring starter homes with certain federally-backed mortgages to include energy-saving features. (Energy News Network)

ALSO: Louisiana regulators award a contract to administer the state’s long-awaited energy efficiency program, more than a decade in the making. (Louisiana Illuminator)

POLITICS: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin joins a coalition of Republican governors advocating for ​“energy choice,” which climate activists say is a euphemism for continued use of fossil fuels. (Virginia Mercury)

OIL & GAS: Louisiana groups receive federal grants to investigate carbon capture, hydrogen production and other technology intended to decarbonize the state’s oil, gas, petrochemical and plastics industries. (NOLA.com)

HYDROGEN: Officials with a planned Appalachian hydrogen hub lay out a 10-year, four-phase timeline to plan, build and scale a sprawling project that would include pipelines, fueling stations and permanent carbon storage infrastructure. (State Journal)

BIOMASS: A Savannah-area mill will supply Georgia Power with 4.6 MW of power from burning bark and other wood products. (Savannah Morning News)

BIOGAS: Officials in Florida’s Miami-Dade County consider where to build a waste-to-energy incinerator after its previous one burned down in 2023. (WTVJ)

CLIMATE: An agriculture industry watchdog sues Arkansas-based Tyson Foods for misleading consumers by marketing ​“climate friendly” beef and pledging to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 despite the near impossibility of mass-producing beef in ways that benefit the climate. (Inside Climate News)

JOBS: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee have seen the biggest commitments from clean energy manufacturers since the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act two years ago. (Governing)