U.S. Offshore Wind Leases In Federal Waters

Outer Continental Shelf data details active renewable energy leases for offshore wind development in federally managed U.S. waters. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management maintains this inventory, which includes individual blocks, sub-blocks, and commercial, research, and right-of-way lease areas. Records were last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Map lease block and sub-block boundaries using geospatial coordinates for site assessment.
• Analyze lease type distribution (commercial, research, right of way) to gauge market activity.
• Track provisional lease status post-auction to monitor project development timelines.
• Join lease area data with oceanographic datasets to evaluate wind resource potential.

Strengths

• Data covers the entire U.S. Outer Continental Shelf within the Exclusive Economic Zone.
• Includes multiple lease types: commercial, research, and right of way.
• Managed by the authoritative federal agency, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Limitations

• State-managed offshore leases are excluded from this federal dataset.
• Sample data and row counts are unavailable to assess dataset volume.
• Provisional lease status may require cross-referencing with other sources for finality.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Administrative records from federal lease management processes.

Time Range

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Freshness

Updated in April 2026.

Geography

U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (federal waters within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone).