Offshore Wind Energy Planning Areas And Lease Blocks

A geospatial dataset shows lease blocks and sub-blocks under investigation for new offshore wind energy development. The data was created and maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The dataset was last updated in April 2026, with the underlying planning areas rescinded in July 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution and size of lease blocks and sub-blocks for wind farm siting.
• Compare planning area outlines with detailed lease block geometries for project feasibility studies.
• Integrate lease block polygons with oceanographic data layers to assess environmental and logistical constraints.

Strengths

• Data originates from the authoritative U.S. federal agency (BOEM) responsible for offshore energy management.
• Available in 10+ interoperable geospatial formats including GeoJSON, KML, and GPKG for broad tool compatibility.

Limitations

• The core planning areas were rescinded in July 2025, limiting current applicability for new project planning.
• Specific quantitative metrics like row count, total area, or number of blocks are not provided in the description.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Department of the Interior.

Collection Method

null

Time Range

Data reflects investigations current as of the rescission date (July 30, 2025).

Freshness

Metadata indicates a platform update in April 2026, but the data content reflects a July 2025 rescission.

Geography

U.S. offshore waters under BOEM jurisdiction.