The U.S. Interior Department issued guidelines on Wednesday for leasing offshore areas to develop wind power generation.

The guidelines from the department's Minerals Management Service help move forward with wind development off the coasts of the U.S., particularly in the Atlantic Ocean.

Two types of leases will be allowed: Long-term commercial leases with terms of up to about 25 years to cover construction and energy production for offshore projects and limited leases for research and development for data collection and testing of technology for an extent of about five years.

The nation that leads the world in creating new sources of clean energy will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy, said President Barack Obama in Iowa today.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last month the offshore wind power in the Atlantic Ocean could replace the amount of energy generated by 3,000 coal-fired plants.

Energy