Biden announces smallest offshore drilling program in history

OIL & GAS: The U.S. Interior Department announces it’ll hold just three oil drilling auctions in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years, marking the smallest offshore drilling program in U.S. history. (E&E News)

ALSO:

• The rising viability of carbon capture worries climate scientists, who say oil and gas producers could use it as a loophole to keep drilling. (E&E News)
• Advocates say a California city’s deal with oil producers to phase out extraction and plug their wells by the end of the decade could serve as a model for other communities. (Los Angeles Times)

CLIMATE:

• U.S. climate envoy John Kerry calls the COP28 fossil fuel phaseout ​“the most important decision since the Paris agreement,” batting back critics who say the agreement doesn’t go far enough. (New York Times)
• An analysis estimates that flooding has so far convinced more than 7 million Americans this century to abandon or avoid risky areas, though many are still flocking to Sun Belt states despite rising seas and storm threats. (Associated Press)

CLEAN ENERGY: The U.S. Treasury Department details how clean energy manufacturers can qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits. (Utility Dive)

GRID:

• More than 2,000 GW of proposed wind, solar and battery storage is waiting to connect to the U.S. power grid as clean energy projects remain stuck behind a vast interconnection backlog. (Canary Media)
• A Massachusetts dairy farm’s trouble connecting its solar array to the grid illustrates the major interconnection problem affecting hundreds of megawatts worth of projects in the state. (Boston Globe)

UTILITIES: A federal lawsuit alleges a former Florida Power & Light CEO made $5.4 million by selling more than 62,000 shares of company stock while it was mired in a scandal over political spending. (Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald)

SOLAR: An anonymously funded group is spreading misinformation about a proposed 120 MW Ohio solar project, including at a recent event featuring speakers with ties to fossil fuel and climate denial groups. (Energy News Network)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Automakers are tapping into a growing consumer trend of pairing electric vehicles with home rooftop solar systems by connecting customers with other energy services. (Associated Press)
• While car dealers will soon be able to offer federal tax incentives directly to electric vehicle buyers, fewer vehicles will also be eligible for incentives come Jan. 1. (New York Times)

WIND: Scientists with the federal government and Nature Conservancy gear up to study how driving offshore wind turbines into the seafloor affects fish. (Virginia Mercury)

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Residents in a majority-Latino neighborhood on Chicago’s southwest side install air sensors to monitor pollution from non-stop truck activity and heavy industry as public officials fail to act. (WBEZ)