Byline: Kevin Miller

May 12--AUGUSTA, Maine -- Gov. John Baldacci joined state lawmakers and advocates for renewable energy on Tuesday to celebrate the passage of a suite of bills aimed at helping lessen Maine's dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels.

After the event, University of Maine researcher Habib Dagher said his research center is well on its way to developing offshore wind power technology that he predicts could support thousands of jobs in the state by 2020.

"We have had interest all over the country and all over the world in this," Dagher said of the floating wind turbine technology being developed at UMaine.

Dagher was among those present at the ceremonial bill signing, where Baldacci praised the Legislature's work on several energy bills. Included among them were bills creating energy corridors, which aim to locate pipelines and transmission lines along major state highways and "smart grid" policy, which uses technology to manage and curb energy use.

Other bills guarantee minimum benefits to towns that host wind turbines and establish a permitting process for offshore wind farms.

The governor also praised a bill that will allow homeowners to pay for energy-efficiency improvements by rolling the upfront costs of the projects...