US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff have signed an agreement that clears the way for generating power from wind, sun, waves, tides and ocean currents in U.S. coastal waters.

According to Salazar, the agreement will spur the development of clean, renewable energy, which he called, “the growth industry of the 21st Century.”

The pact clarifies respective agencies’ responsibilities for leasing and licencing renewable energy projects on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. As a part of the agreement, the Minerals Management Service will control the production, transportation or transmission of energy from non-hydrokinetic sources, such as wind and solar.

FERC will not issue a license or exemption for an Outer Continental Shelf hydrokinetic project until the applicant has first obtained a lease, easement, or right-of-way from MMS for the site. MMS in return will require that construction and operation cannot begin without a licence or exemption from FERC.

The Interior oversees more than 1.7bn acres on the Outer Continental Shelf - an area roughly three fourths the size of the entire United States.