Protesting for the sake of it?

Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good protest.

That seems to be the mantra for some of the folk who are currently parading around the UK countryside, armed with banners and occasionally, a tube of glue.

Evidently they’re keen to make some sort of point.

The thing is, for impartial industry observers, it’s often difficult to understand just what that point really is.

Worse still, with the UK tabloids climbing all over the issue and dedicating increasing column inches and air time to the matter during what is traditionally a quiet news month, there’s a danger that it’s quickly getting out of hand.

And, that in the subsequent melee, there’s a concern that the most pertinent issues of the day (and the facts), are getting lost in the chaos and the noise.

Sound like just another protest at a soon-to-be onshore wind farm?

Well, this time it’s not. Although, given that many of the protesters currently courting the attention of the world’s press would most likely do the same were the site set for wind, there’s a curious irony to it all.

No, in this instance, it’s the delicate issue of fracking that’s been courting the headlines. And it’s developer Cuadrilla, that’s borne the brunt of the storm.

Never mind the fact that this single, six-inch exploratory well that’s being drilled to 2,500 feet below Sussex doesn’t involve the actual fracking process, of course. Or that it is ever expected to either – provided that the anticipated flow is good.

And never mind too, that the very way of life of the protesters and the wider UK consumer base is dependent on long-term cheap, secure and plentiful energy, a point that Dominic Lawson argues extremely well in The Independent.

Because that’s really at the nub of the energy debate, isn’t it? A plentiful, boundless energy supply, provided at an affordable rate to the end consumer.

Now, let’s be clear, this column is not suddenly switching allegiance to our fossil fuelled cousins. Or is it supporting or endorsing any one single, limited fuel supply over another – irrespective of the estimated size of the reserves.

However, what is becoming increasingly clear is that for a small but vocal minority, there’s a growing disconnect between the lifestyles and levels of domestic comfort and security that such individuals enjoy, versus the reality of juggling the future national energy mix.

As we’ve long argued - energy is a provocative and controversial business. And with usage showing little signs of slowing, that’s unlikely to change overnight.

In the short to medium term then, that means exploring a range of emerging energy sources, it involves renewed investment and it requires confidence, patience and belief.

As the international wind energy markets know all too well, that takes time. And it involves engaging with the naysayers, tooth and nail, from the very start.

Wind energy executives teaching the oil and gas markets a thing or too? Now that really would be something to wave a placard about.