In a boost to wind-energy proponents, the Department of the Interior announced Thursday that wind-energy projects off the Mid-Atlantic coast would cause no significant environmental damage.

The announcement in Baltimore by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar could lift efforts by the governors of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware to make offshore wind a reality.

The positive environmental review designates sections of water off those states for long-term wind-energy leases, which Salazar said he hopes to issue this year. Additional environmental impact studies would be required for specific proposals, but Thursday’s announcement removes one of several regulatory hurdles to offshore wind development.

Appearing with Salazar, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) touted the announcement as a major step forward as he sets out on a second attempt to get an offshore wind-energy bill through the state legislature. O’Malley called the wind off Maryland’s coast “the most available and abundant source of renewable energy in our state.”

The news was cheered by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R). “Cost-effective development of Virginia’s offshore wind resources is one important component of our overall effort to make Virginia ‘The Energy Capital of the East Coast,’ ” McDonnell said in a statement.

No offshore wind farms have been built in the United States, although a few are in the planning stages. In 2010, after years of public debate and regulatory review, Salazar approved what would be the nation’s first offshore wind farm for the waters off Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Financing of offshore wind is still an obstacle.

Staff writer Anita Kumar contributed to this report.