THUNDER BAY – Newly minted Associate Minister of Forestry and Forest Products Kevin Holland announced a new five-year contract between Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to support nearly 400 direct and indirect jobs in the region. “Biomass is gonna play a critical role in sustaining the forestry industry moving forward. Minister Lecce announced last week that it’s a critical component of the energy procurement in the province moving forward and it’s gonna, use the mills’ residuals and the forest residuals to create power. It’s going to be a huge supplier of energy in our province. …The multi-million-dollar contract with OPG and IESO will maintain a $20 million per year overall economic impact in Northwestern Ontario. Approximately, 90,000 tons of wood pellets are produced by Resolute yearly contributing to the local community in many ways.