NORTH KINGSTOWN — Deepwater Wind has agreed to lease 117 acres in the Quonset Business Park to use as a staging area for its $1.5-billion proposal to install more than 100 wind turbines off the Rhode Island coast.

The board of directors of the Quonset Development Corporation on Monday voted unanimously in favor of an agreement giving the New Jersey company 10-year leases on three parcels in the state-owned business park. It is the second major development for the project in the last five days after Governor Carcieri on Friday signed into law legislation crucial to clean energy in Rhode Island.

“This development agreement marks a major milestone in the state’s march toward the development of offshore wind projects, and positions Rhode Island as the epicenter for renewable energy on the East Coast,” the governor said in a statement.

The deal with the QDC has been expected for months. One reason the governor selected Deepwater last fall to develop wind farms in Rhode Island was the startup company’s willingness to set up an assembly facility in Quonset Point staffed by up to 800 employees.

In May, the QDC announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Deepwater for the leases. Monday’s action by the board formalizes that agreement.

The deal is contingent on Deepwater securing financing and obtaining all the necessary federal and state permits for its project, a process that will take years. In the meantime, the company will pay the QDC annual fees to reserve the land. The payment for the first year is $100,000 and will increase to $150,000 in the second year and $325,000 in the third.

The three parcels, two inland and one waterfront, will be used for the transport and assembly of the five to eight turbines that will be installed by 2012 three miles from Block Island and the 100 turbines that will eventually be placed at least 15 miles from land.

Deepwater will pay the QDC $1.9 million annually in rent over the first five years of the lease and $2.2 million a year over the second five years. The company will have two successive five-year options to extend the lease. Rent would increase if the company takes up those options.

Deepwater may have to widen roads in the park to accommodate the large components it will be transporting. The agreement stipulates that the company would pay for that work. In addition, the agreement says the company would be penalized if it failed to create at least 500 jobs.

Steven J. King, managing director of the QDC, said at the meeting that it will not be long before work on Deepwater’s facility in the business park begins.

“Within two years, you’re going to see a lot of activity,” he told the board.

State officials believe the construction of Deepwater’s facility could be the first step in creating a hub for the offshore wind industry on the East Coast. Deepwater, along with two other companies, has been given permission to develop proposals in New Jersey and Delaware. The firm is also looking at plans off the New York coast.

Deepwater executives say that if their projects pan out, they would be staged at Quonset Point. They also say the project could attract manufacturers of turbine components that would supply industry. Both General Electric and Siemens, global companies with divisions that manufacture wind turbines, have talked to state officials about coming to Rhode Island.

On Friday, Governor Carcieri signed legislation that allows electrical utility National Grid to enter into long-term contracts to purchase power from renewable energy producers. Deepwater executives say they need such a contract to show private investors that they have a guaranteed buyer for their energy. Without the contract, it would be extremely difficult for the company to raise additional money to supplement its equity financing.

Those present at the QDC meeting Monday said that the signings of the lease agreement and the new legislation are major developments for offshore wind in Rhode Island.

“It’s a national coup is what it is,” board member John G. Laramee said to Deepwater chief executive Chris Wissemann and other company representatives who were in attendance.

akuffner@projo.com