The federal government today issued five leases to allow wind-energy companies to explore the possibility of building wind farms off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware. In a news conference with Gov. Jon Corzine, U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar called the leases, the first of their kind issued by the federal government, a first step to help the state meet its goal to produce wind-generated power by 2013. Four of the leases are for collecting data off the coast of New Jersey. The fifth is for a lease off the coast of Delaware. Read full Star Ledger article here.