Mar. 12--Bureaucratic infighting is holding up one of the Obama administration's top goals in renewable energy -- the construction of wind turbines off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts that would generate clean electricity and create "green" jobs.

At the center of the fight are two obscure but powerful federal agencies, each of which claims the ability to approve new wave and tidal energy projects along the outer continental shelf. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) each says it has the sole authority to issue permits and licenses, and neither is willing to budge.

The result: Thousands of megawatts of wind-produced energy, considered a top priority by President Obama, are blocked.

Industry insiders say the standoff has the unintended consequence of stopping an Interior Department proposal to open offshore energy projects, including wind turbines. Although Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has pledged to finalize the rules this year, it is anybody's guess whether or when the administration or Congress will be able to force a resolution.

"It's already holding up the rule," said Laurie Jodziewicz, manager of siting policy at the American Wind Energy Association, the trade group for wind energy producers.

"Until there's clarity, companies are not going to be very excited about moving forward with their offshore projects," said Michael Olsen, a former Interior Department official now with the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, which represents a potential developer of offshore projects.

The tiff is causing ripples on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, five lawmakers led by Sen. Thomas R. Carper, Delaware Democrat, wrote to Mr. Salazar to urge him to resolve the issue and expedite offshore development regulations.

In the meantime, Sean O'Neill, president of the Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition -- which represents companies hoping to tap tide, wave and underwater current energy -- said the delay is hurting the investment climate for all kinds of offshore energy projects.

"It has a very chilling effect. We need regulatory certainty, and right now, we have terrible uncertainty," he said.

Mr. Salazar insists there is huge potential off the coasts for renewable energy production, particularly off the Atlantic coast.

"The scientists tell me that when you look at the wind energy potential off the Atlantic, it may be greater than we have onshore," Mr. Salazar told the Associated Press.