Regulating small wind farms in Wisconsin often is akin to holding a jury trial without a judge.

Wind farm developers and municipalities argue their respective cases without anyone to referee the inevitable disputes that arise. That soon could change.

Gov. Jim Doyle Wednesday signed a Democratic-authored bill that calls for the state Public Service Commission to set restrictions on wind farms that produce less than 100 megawatts of electricity.

Developers, including one here in Manitowoc County, complain that a patchwork of local ordinances has made it nearly impossible to build small wind farms in the state. Wednesday's bill signing will clear the way for the PSC to develop the uniform regulations advocates of the legislation say are long overdue.

They claim it will bring more wind energy projects and help Wisconsin reach a goal of meeting 10 percent of its energy needs from sources other than coal- or gas-fired power plants by 2015.

Opponents say the economic impact of wind farms is overestimated and that the state doesn't need more windmills dotting the landscape.

Wind power is one of the waves of the energy future, however, and uniform rules to govern the industry are welcome.

The PSC already had regulatory authority over larger wind farms, and extending that authority to smaller operations is a logical and necessary step.

It's unfortunate this legislation came too late to prevent Emerging Energies LLC from suing the Manitowoc County Board of Adjustment over the board's rejection of a permit to construct a seven-turbine wind farm in the town of Mishicot. Emerging Energies claims that local rules basically prohibit small wind farms. It may be right, but absence of statewide, universal rules in this regard hinder any chance at constructive agreement.

Statewide rules should not, however, mean an end to local control. Developers still must work with local governments to make sure that what they propose is a good fit for the community. Local officials, in turn, now can work with developers in the context of rules that apply to everyone, removing some of the guesswork previously in place.

Now it's up to the PSC to develop rules that are fair to everyone. Developers and local communities ultimately will be the judges of that.