The White House is expected to argue on Friday that holding oil lease sales is the price to pay if it wants to achieve its ambitious wind energy goals. Biden sees offshore wind power as a key tool in his administration's effort to decarbonize the economy. "The number of oil and gas lease sales will be the lowest in history and will enable the rapid expansion of the offshore wind industry," the source said. The Interior Department is required by law to create a national oil and gas leasing schedule every five years. The Biden administration unveiled a proposed plan in July last year that had contemplated between zero to 11 lease sales.

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Persons: Jessica Resnick, Ault, Biden, Trump, Joe Biden's, Deb Haaland, Jarrett Renshaw, Nichola, Marguerita Choy, David Gregorio, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Reuters, Biden, Interior Department, Interior, Thomson Locations: Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Alaska, California, U.S