The Biden administration has recently made a significant move in its ongoing commitment to promoting renewable energy by significantly reducing the number of offshore oil and gas lease sales planned for the next five years. The Department of the Interior (DOI) has outlined a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, which remarkably includes only three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico through 2029, setting a record for the least number of sales in such a program.
This decision aligns with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which links future offshore wind leases to these oil and gas sales. Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, criticized the administration’s decision, arguing that it restricts access to essential national resources and overlooks the realities of global energy demands. Milito emphasized the potential negative impacts, such as increased energy prices, job losses in Gulf Coast communities, and geopolitical consequences, including increased reliance on energy imports from countries with lower environmental standards.
The DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to conduct these sales in 2025, 2027, and 2029. The plan also excludes leasing in the Alaskan, Atlantic, and Pacific regions, diverging from past practices.
The Biden administration indicated that the IRA influenced its decision-making process. The $739 billion climate and tax package, signed in 2022, requires new offshore wind energy leases to be paired with new oil and gas leases. This stipulation aims to support Biden’s goal of achieving 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Currently, the U.S. has only a few small pilot offshore wind projects, but several larger facilities are in development.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, a key figure in crafting the IRA, expressed disappointment with the administration’s approach. He criticized the minimal number of oil and gas leases, which he believes will consequently limit renewable leases due to the IRA’s requirements. He accused the administration of prioritizing political agendas over American energy security.
Historically, the federal government, under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, is mandated to issue such plans every five years. The most recent plan expired in June 2022, and the delay in issuing a new plan marks a departure from the usual promptness seen in both Republican and Democratic administrations. Previous plans, including those under the Obama administration, featured over 10 offshore lease sales, while the Trump administration aimed for 47 lease sales across various regions between 2022 and 2027. This new plan represents a significant shift in U.S. energy policy towards a greener future.