FC for 383 MW near-shore wind park in the Netherlands

The near-shore Windpark Fryslân to be located on the Ijselmeer lake, near Breezanddijk, the Netherlands with a 383 MW capacity has reached financial close. 

Senior debt of around EUR700 million (US$768.60 million) was provided by a lenders group of 10 banks consisting of ABN AMRO, BNG, BNP Paribas, DZ Bank, Helaba, ING, KBC, KfW IPEX, NWB, and Rabobank. On financial close, the province of Fryslan stepped in as a shareholder with a total investment of EUR100 million (US$109 million). After completion of construction, inhabitants of the province will be given the opportunity to invest in the wind farm through bonds.

The ‎EUR 500 million (US$ 588 million) project is jointly owned by Windpark Fryslan (75.5%) and Province of Fryslan (24.5%). Green Giraffe provided financial advisory services to Windpark Fryslân during the financial close.

Once operational in 2021, the project will be the world’s largest wind farm on a lake. This is another milestone in the lake’s interesting history: the former complex of lakes was flooded by the North Sea, then later closed off again by a 32-kilometer dam and partly drained to create an entirely new province with fertile farmland. The area will now additionally supply 383 MW of electricity per year, enough for 500,000 households and 70% of the province of Friesland’s wind energy target. The wind turbines will be located just south of the long dam called Afsluitdijk. The project includes the construction of a nature island further along the Afsluitdijk. The island will be a resting and foraging area for birds and fish. During the construction of the project it may be used as a work island.

Ventolines is responsible for the overall development and project management for the Fryslan wind farm. A consortium of Van Oord and Siemens Gamesa was selected as the construction contractor for the project in August 2018.