Recognized as a leader among international utilities as a low cost energy producer, LG&E/KU's Ghent Generating Station produces enough electricity to light five million 100-watt light bulbs and consumes an average of 14,000 tons of coal daily. The 2,000 MW facility is one of the most environmentally sound and technologically advanced coal plants in the country. The overland pipe conveyor will transport coal combustion residuals (CCR). When refurbished, the 1.8 mile transport conveyor will move fly ash from four coal-fired boilers to a remote landfill storage. The intended use and location of the conveyor led LGE/KU to hot-dip galvanizing.

However, in November of 2019 a fire broke out causing damage to three levels of the loading platform as well as ¼-mile of the pipe conveyor leading to the sorting/loading tower. Thus leaving the transport conveyor inoperable. The fire caused roughly $2 million in damages to the original building/conveyor. The design called for galvanizing due to the rough corrosive elements from the CCR, as well as the overland conveyors exposure to its industrial atmosphere. With the original coating damaged and initial international design, a choice to salvage what members could be reprocessed was made by LGE.

When coordinating with the fabricator on the refurbishment of the damaged members, there were multiple challenges that occurred. The original building materials were from a foreign source, and contaminates on the surface of the coating caused processing hurdles to leap through for the galvanizers and fabricator. When processing the fire-riddled members caked with fly ash as well as other melted materials, the striping and reprocessing of the members would not be easy nor consistent. Upon further coordination the best method to reach the bare metal was to blast the product that could be salvaged and refabricate the pieces that were too damaged. With a year deadline looming over the fabricator and galvanizer along with the sheer size of material, multiple facilities had to be utilized.

In coordination with the fabricator/erector, five galvanizing facilities stepped up to play a part in meeting the deadline and supporting the CCR conveyor failure. Due to the design, and size of some of the members, local galvanizing facilities had to coordinate with other locations to handle the larger assemblies and quick demand. Expedited turns, stripping and reprocessing the material, in a four month period led to the completion and reassembly of the damaged conveyor. The communication and quality of the service received will surely lead to more galvanizing projects with electric utilities around the world.