The use of wave and tidal energy is set to become more common across the UK after plans for a new Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) were announced.
"I am keen that we get as much of our energy as we can from home-grown sources and our seas are a fantastic asset that can help us do this - in a number of ways," says energy and climate change minister David Kidney.
SEA will pave the way for energy to be produced and stored off-shore in significantly larger volumes than it currently is.
The coasts of England and Wales are to be used in the project, which is being coordinated by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Producing renewable energy off-shore using natural resources will have a number of environmental benefits and could help to reduce reliance on fossil fuels such as
gas and electricity.
Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson states: "This is great news for Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government has big marine energy aspirations and anticipates utilising many gigawatts of power from wave and tidal stream by 2025."
Meanwhile, Maria McCaffery, RenewableUK's chief executive reveals that the "excellent news" will give a significant boost to the wave and tidal energy industry.
She adds that enough wave and tidal capacity could be installed by 2020 to power up to 1.4 million homes in Britain.
Development of off-shore energy stores are also expected to create increased capacity for keeping oil, gas and carbon dioxide.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change's announcement may answer the fears of the Renewable Energy Centre, which last year claimed the UK urgently needed new wind and tidal energy production facilities.
At the time, the centre claimed that wind and tidal energy has the potential to provide reliable and
green energy to millions of properties across the country.
