Offshore wind farm in Dutch lake finally online

Developer Ventolines overcomes litany of challenges to fully commission large Dutch offshore wind project

Construction at the Fryslân wind farm had been delayed by multiple challenges (pic credit: Yvonne van Driel)

The 382.7MW Fryslân nearshore wind farm, located in Dutch waters 5.6km off Friesland in the IJsselmeer section of the North Sea, has been fully commissioned, developer Ventolines has confirmed.

The project, one of the largest in the Netherlands, was due online in the summer but suffered delays due to bad weather, complex logistics and the coronavirus pandemic.

Installation of 89 of Siemens Gamesa’s SWT-DD-130 wind turbines – each with an individual power rating of 4.3MW – commenced in March 2021 and first power was delivered in April. 

Progress stalled in the following months, with the final turbines being installed in July. Siemens Gamesa is also contracted to provide turbine service and maintenance for 16 years.

The project is a joint venture between Windpark Fryslan (75.5%) and Provincie Fryslan (24.5%). 

According to “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç Intelligence, the data and research division of “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, the Netherlands has a pipeline of 9GW of offshore wind projects at various stages of development. 

The most advanced is the under-construction 1520MW Hollandse Kust Zuid , which is part-owned by chemicals giant BASF.