Solution Minimizes Tower Support Structures
Provides Controls & Power
Of the 1.5 billion gallons of fuel-grade ethanol that Green Plains Renewable Energy produces each year, 121 million of them – enough to power over 10 million small cars – come from the Wood River, Nebraska facility. Located just west of Grand Island, the 124-acre facility employs 60 people and began its operations in 2008.
Recently, the 11-year-old facility planned to install a new dust collection system and baghouse for the corn unloading operation. EAD’s structrual engineering team designed an elevated cable tray structure that connects the control room to the corn unloading area. Using custom, lightweight 3D trusses, EAD’s solution stands 20 feet off the plant truck delivery road and is about 225 feet long. The lightweight truss combined with minimal foundation excavation curtailed the project costs.
EAD received positive feedback from the plant’s construction manager, who said that the new structure worked well for the facility’s purposes.