Biden’s ​‘delicate dance’ on offshore drilling

OIL & GAS: The Biden administration will approve just three new oil and gas leases through 2029, a move designed to only narrowly comply with climate legislation last year that tied offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Mexico to continued drilling. (CNN, Washington Post)

ALSO: Industry observers discuss the ​“delicate dance” President Biden has had to navigate as his promise to stop oil and gas drilling runs up against legal and political walls. (New York Times)

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COAL: The insurance industry continues to provide coverage for U.S. coal mining companies despite their climate commitments, an advocacy group finds. (Grist)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:

• Automakers claim they can’t pay workers better as they transition to electric vehicles but still hand out billions in stock buybacks, investor dividends, and executive compensation. (Lever/​Nation)
• Legacy automakers are racing to catch up to competitors like Tesla on technology that will enable more affordable electric vehicles. (CNN)
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files a lawsuit against Tesla, alleging the company engaged in racial harassment and discrimination at its California factory. (ABC News)

CLEAN ENERGY:

• The U.S. Energy Department finalizes a partial loan guarantee with solar developer Sunnova to build distributed solar and storage projects in disadvantaged communities. (Utility Dive)
• Advocates look to entice Jackson, Wyoming, billionaires to take advantage of federal tax credits by investing in clean energy projects. (New York Times)

STORAGE: While energy storage project development reached a record high in the last quarter, developers had to delay more than 2,000 MW of additional deployment because of grid interconnection issues, rising costs and other challenges. (Inside Climate News)

OFFSHORE WIND: A wave of issues stalling development at New York’s Port of Albany, which will support wind turbine development, underscores the complex web of problems across the wind industry. (E&E News)

CLIMATE:

• As residents increasingly flee a Texas neighborhood ravaged by flooding and intense rainfall, a struggling buyout program illustrates the limits of what can be done in disaster-prone areas. (Texas Tribune)
• Portland, Oregon’s city council approves a $750 million plan aimed at reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change, with a focus on low-income residents and communities of color. (OPB)

UTILITIES: Federal officials charge Exelon, ComEd and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore with fraud in connection to a corruption scheme to influence former Speaker of the House Michael Madigan. (Crain’s Chicago Business, subscription)

EFFICIENCY: Utility leaders, home builders and grid component manufacturers look to meet with White House officials to lobby against proposed transformer efficiency rules they say will slow clean energy deployment. (Utility Dive)

NUCLEAR: Industry advocates say Minnesota and the U.S. could learn lessons from Canada on deploying nuclear power to reduce emissions. (Project Optimist)