U.S. taxpayers netted less than $50,000 on Thursday in bids for oil and gas leases in California as the Trump administration held the first federal drilling auction since 2012 in the Democratic and environmentally minded state. Slideshow ( 2 images ) The auction for drilling rights on seven parcels covering 4,100 acres (16.6 square kilometers) generated $46,148.64, according to results on the auction site EnergyNet. The average price per acre was $11, far below the nearly $330-an-acre average price federal lease sales have generated throughout the Trump administration, according to data compiled by green group Center for Western Priorities. Leasing is a key part of President Donald Trump’s agenda to increase fossil fuel development, but many sale results have been lackluster this year as the coronavirus pandemic has slammed energy demand and prices. The parcels sold on Thursday in California’s Kern County, home to most of the […]