AUGUSTA - Governor Baldacci made a major announcement today: there will soon be wind turbines located off the coast of Maine.

At a press conference this morning in Augusta, the governor announced there will be three test sites in the Gulf of Maine, which will be the first of their kind in the nation. There will be wind turbines located near Boone Island, off the coast of York. They will also be located near Damariscove Island, which is south of Boothbay and just east of Phippsburg. The third set of turbines will be off Monhegan Island, which is south of Port Clyde. The goal is to one day produce enough electricity so that Maine is not dependent on foreign oil. UMaine professor Habib Dagher, who will have a leading role in the project, says winds in the Gulf of Maine have the potential to produce the equivalent amount of energy as about 150 nuclear power plants. The test turbines will be placed off the coast by 2011.