On September 7, 2020, the construction of Windpark Fryslân started with the piling of the first of the 89 foundation piles in the bottom of the Ijsselmeer in the Netherlands.
This is an important milestone for this special project that will generate green electricity for approximately 500,000 households by 2021.
Wind farm Fryslân is being built in the Frisian part of the IJsselmeer near Breezanddijk. Due to the shallows waters in the IJsselmeer and the width of the locks, it´s not possible to work with standard offshore wind equipment. To overcome this, Van Oord built a unique work platform called Sarens Soccer Pitch. On top of this working platform is a large crane which is used to install the foundations. The work platform will also be used for the installation of the wind turbines.
The wind farm’s Siemens Gamesa 4.3 MW wind turbines will be placed in a hexagon-shaped cluster. This will be done to ensure that the wind turbines restrict the view of the horizon as little as possible, the developer said.
The wind turbines are scheduled to be up and running in the summer of 2021. Once operational, Windpark Fryslân will become the largest wind farm in the world installed in inland fresh water.