The MLA elect for Inverness says he's pleased the provincial government will allow NewPage Port Hawkesbury to sell crown-land timber to a facility that would burn waste wood.

Allan MacMaster tells The Hawk it's great news for the local economy.

"This is going to be good for people who work in our forestry sector, people who are harvesting", says Macmaster, "and it's also good for organizations like the Strathlorne tree nursery."

Premier Darrell Dexter says the government's approval simply gives NewPage permission to use wood from crown land for its proposed biomass project.

A NewPage executive says it's an important first step in pursuing the project.