On March 14, a ceremony was held at the Afsluitdijk Wadden Center in Kornwerderzand to mark the official start of construction of the 382.7 MW Wind Farm Fryslân. The official start of construction was announced by developer Windpark Fryslân B.V. and Zuiderzeewind, a consortium of Van Oord and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the developers, representatives of national, provincial and local government, and local citizens. The first activities include the installation of tubes for the cables that will connect the wind turbines with the substation at Breezanddijk. Zuiderzeewind will use local content where possible. On April 4, an information and orientation day for local companies will be organised at the Afsluitdijk Wadden Centrum.
Wind farm Fryslân is constructed near Breezanddijk, south of the Afsluitdijk, in the northern part of the IJsselmeer lake. It will comprise 89 4.3 MW turbines. The wind farm is expected to become fully operational in 2021. The 382.7 MW wind farm will cover a large part of the target set by the province of Fryslân to generate 530.5 MW from wind energy by 2020.
Signing of investment agreement with the Province of Fryslân
During the same gathering, Windpark Fryslân B.V. also signed an investment agreement with the province of Fryslân. The province of Fryslân is intended to invest 100 million euro in the wind farm. The investment by the province will come from the revenues from a previous sale of shares in energy company NUON.
In 2016, Windpark Fryslân and the province already signed a letter of intent. In May 2017, a participation agreement was signed which outlined the content of the participation. The investment agreement is a further elaboration of this participation agreement. The actual investment will take place after is pending on financial close of the project and also on an independend expert review whether all conditions set by the province are met.
When the wind farm is operational the province of Fryslân will use its return of investment for sustainable initiatives in the province and developments along the coastline of the IJsselmeer lake.
Previously, Windpark Fryslân also reached an agreement with the municipality Súdwest Fryslân for the organisation of a local development fund (Omgevingsfonds) whereby Windpark Fryslân will annually contribute around 720,000 euro over a period of 20 years. Source: Windpark Fryslân
