available to surrounding areas. Figures released in early 2010 by the Sizewell A and B operators—Magnox Ltd and EDF, respectively—indicated that the two existing plants were consuming approximately of mains water each day, in addition to the of seawater that the operators are permitted to use for cooling systems that do not require treated water. Critics estimated that Sizewell C would require a further of potable water daily, and suggested that EDF were planning to use the mains supply because it would be cheaper than the alternative of establishing a desalination plant. Essex and Suffolk Water, the mains-water supplier for the area, stated in response that they were satisfied that the water supply would be "sustainable" for the next 25 years even if Sizewell C were to be built. However, Essex and Suffolk Water later reversed its position, leading EDF to plan instead on using a temporary desalination plant to provide for construction water needs while also building a permanent pipeline from the River Waveney to the Sizewell C sitebut this plan was also halted when in August 2021 Essex and Suffolk Water informed EDF that the Environment Agency would be curtailing their licences to abstract water from the River Waveney by up to 60%. The water company subsequently confirmed that "existing water resources (including the River Waveney) will not be sufficient to meet forecast mains water demand, including the operational demand of Sizewell C," leading EDF to declare that it would rely on a permanent desalination system supplying the plant's needs if no other solution could be found. This was accepted by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Kwasi Kwarteng, who held that "the uncertainty over the permanent water supply strategy is not a barrier to granting consent" to the Sizewell C project. On 8 August 2022, Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), supported by Friends of the Earth, announced its intention to contest the development consent order, based primarily on the failure to first secure a water supply. In its earlier rejection of the scheme, the Planning Inspectorate had stated that "unless the outstanding water supply strategy can be resolved and sufficient information provided to enable the secretary of state to carry out his obligations under the Habitats Regulations, the case for an order granting development consent for the application is not made out". Preference for other energy sources Researchers such as Professor Barrett et