(Dec. 23) CMI, the Chicago-based door and millwork manufacturer, has been awarded more than $1.3 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to install a back-pressure steam turbine at its door, trim and panel manufacturing facility in Towanda, Pa.

The new system will use existing excess steam to generate up to 1,000 kilowatts of electricity per day. Based on the estimated operating schedule at the mill, CMI expects the new system to produce from 3,556,000 to 8,097,000 kilowatts per year, which will offset a portion of the plant’s current electrical consumption, the company said.

CMI was awarded $1.36 million through a competitive grant that was administered by the Pennsylvania’s Green Energy Works! program, which will reimburse 75% of the project’s cost. CMI will invest the remaining 25%, or about $426,000.

Opened in 1966, the 307-acre Towanda facility is CMI’s largest manufacturing plant, producing CraftMaster interior doors, MiraTEC treated exterior composite trim and Extira treated exterior panels.

CMI also operates door-manufacturing facilities in Christiansburg, Va.; Ozark, Ala.; and Garland, Texas.