US Auctions Wind Energy Leases off RI, Mass. A Rhode Island firm is the high bidder in an auction to build a wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It's the first time the federal government has sold competitive leases for wind energy on the outer continental shelf. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says Deepwater Wind was the provisional winner with a bid of $3.8 million. Director Tommy Beaudreau calls it a historic moment in the future of clean energy in the U.S. and says the final bid was higher than expected. Two other companies also bid. The area is more than 10 miles off Rhode Island between and to the south of Block Island and Martha's Vineyard. There are no offshore wind farms in the United States, though several are being developed.