ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Chicken waste will one day power state offices and college campuses in Maryland, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced yesterday.

The state and the University of Maryland have agreed to buy up to 10 megawatts of electricity from a proposed Federalsburg, Md., power plant as part of a 15-year deal that would save the state up to $80 million, O’Malley said.

The Caroline County plant would use chicken litter as its primary fuel, reducing farm runoff into Chesapeake Bay, he added.

Farm runoff is a pollutant that contributes to algae blooms that lower oxygen levels in bay water, scientists say.