The US government on Monday will open a 60-day period for global investors to submit qualification materials with a view to bidding in upcoming lease sales in the 1.6GW Wilmington East zone that faces the coasts of the states of North and South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), which regulates commercial development on the federal outer continental shelf, will be considering up to three areas for lease that comprise 127,865 acres (517.4sq