Van Oord completed the offshore cable installation activities for the 383 MW Fryslân Wind Farm which is currently being built in the IJsselmeer, south of the Afsluitdijk. The connection will undergo testing in the next few days.
Via the Zuiderzeewind consortium with Siemens Gamesa, Van Oord is responsible for the design, manufacturing and installation of the wind farm’s foundations and cables. Around 90 km of cables had to be laid in total to connect all 89 Siemens Gamesa 4.3 MW wind turbines to the new substation on Breezanddijk. An installation platform was specially designed for these activities. A large plow ensured the cables, with a diameter of 15 cm, were laid 2 metres in the seabed.
The cables are supplied by cable manufacturer TKF. UK company Tekmar provided the cable protection system. Visser & Smit Hanab was selected to perform the termination and testing work.
The first electricity was already produced almost 2 months ago following completion of the first wind turbine. The turbine installation activities in the meantime continue. When completed this summer, the wind farm will become the largest wind farm in the world situated in inland water, producing an expected 1.5 terawatt hours on an annual basis. This corresponds to the energy consumption of approximately 500,000 households. Energy company Eneco will be purchasing the electricity produced by the Fryslân Wind Farm for a period of 15 year.
