It is being called an important milestone for small modular reactor development in New Brunswick.

NB Power and ARC Clean Technology have submitted an environmental impact assessment registration document to the province.

The two partners also announced Friday that they have submitted a licence to prepare site application to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

“To transition to a cost-effective, clean and secure energy supply, we are exploring new ways of delivering energy to customers,” Lori Clark, president and CEO of NB Power, said in a news release.

“Small modular reactors are part of the solution to reach our target of being net-zero by 2035 and ensure that we are meeting the needs of New Brunswickers today and into the future.”

Since 2018, ARC has been working to develop an advanced sodium-cooled fast reactor that will generate at least 100 megawatts of electricity.

The company plans to build and operate the reactor on the site of the existing Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station.

While ARC is leading the development of the small modular reactor, NB Power is providing technical support for the project.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to grow the low-carbon economy of the future, and ARC looks forward to the open and transparent public licensing processes that are now beginning,” Bill Labbe, president and CEO of ARC Clean Technology Canada, said in a news release.

The company hopes to have its reactor up and running by 2030.