The U.S. Interior Department has issued long-delayed guidelines for leasing offshore areas for renewable energy production.

With this, the federal government has cleared the way for developers to plant wind farms in offshore waters on the outer continental shelf.

As per the information available, the department’s Mineral Management Service (MMS) will issue two types of leases for development of renewable resources off U.S. coasts.

Long-term commercial leases with terms of up to about 25 years will cover construction and energy production for offshore projects.

Limited leases for research and development will allow data collection and technology testing over the span of about five years.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the department is ready to move forward with offshore wind development, particularly in the Atlantic Ocean, where wind power can be more easily harnessed and there is access to the electricity grid. In an interview with The Associated Press, Salazar said he expects the first electricity production from some of the projects in two or three years, probably off the Atlantic Coast.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 granted MMS the authority to regulate offshore wind farms but the regulatory framework was never developed.