On June 23, 2009, the Minerals Management Service, a division within the U.S. Department of Interior, issued five limited leases to offshore wind energy developers for wind data collection on the Outer Continental Shelf. These leases will allow for the construction of meteorological towers to collect site-specific data on wind speed, intensity, and direction. The data collected under these leases will be shared with the MMS, and "used to inform and support future commercial renewable energy projects, such as wind turbine farms, to help coastal States meet mandated renewable energy portfolio standards."
The leases were issued to Deepwater Wind (two locations off the coast of New Jersey), Bluewater Wind (one location off New Jersey, one location off Delaware), and Fishermen’s Energy (one location off New Jersey).