State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has taken a much-needed step in establishing a code of conduct for the wind-power industry. He has set rules that localities appeared unable or reluctant to address.

The companies aiming to create and profit from wind farms in our region were walking into virgin territory less than a decade ago when they began scouting for reliable wind sources. They knew their efforts would be controversial. Whether they expected the fire storm they encountered is unknown.

Conceptually, virtually everyone embraced wind power. No fossil fuels, no reliance on foreign relations, no atmospheric denigration. But, when it came to actually building a group of windmills reaching 400 feet into the air that could be seen out somebody's window, that was another matter. Factor in alleged calamities, such as unrelenting noise, maddening light flicker, bird kill and unnerved livestock, and you have a genuine controversy.

Still, despite all these issues -- real or imagined -- owners of land who were going to sell or lease to the wind producers began signing very lucrative contracts. There is nothing like a steady, robust income to persuade a person to overlook adversities, most of which hadn't even been proven legitimate.

Charges began to fly around that local politicians, who were making public decisions on granting or rejecting wind projects, were profiting from those very projects. Soon, it was clear, policies and rules were going to have to be drawn where none had ever existed.

Allegations of briberies and improper dealings by public officials prompted Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne to forward complaints to Cuomo. It was a statewide issue, he reasoned. He also asked his County Legislature to write a code to cover the potential local areas of conflict. But legislators were tepid toward the idea of defining what could and couldn't be done. These were town matters, they said. The towns were even less enthusiastic, generally. This was an issue that was pitting neighbor against neighbor.

So in stepped Cuomo. While continuing to investigate the allegations, he wrote a Wind Industry Ethics Code to keep some distance between the companies and local government officials. Some of the provisions were detailed in last Friday's Press-Republican. Cuomo also appointed a six-member task force to hear complaints about wind projects and allegations of conflicts of interest. Champagne is a member of that group.

Thus, one of the impediments to the development of wind power has been addressed. They must be confronted as they arise, as the industry is too new to already have all the bugs worked out. Champagne and Cuomo should be commended for taking this important step.

Other impediments exist, of course. One of them is the current feeble state of the economy, which has landed one of the local developers, Noble Environmental Power of Connecticut, into a state of lethargy. The blades on Noble's windmills in the towns of Belmont and Chateaugay have stopped, along with all other progress, until new funding sources can be found. No amount of diligence on Cuomo's part can free that stalemate.

But, when the turbines producing wind power are turned back on, one sticking point will have been removed, thanks to Champagne and Cuomo. That's an undeniably good power source.