The island, which will first act as the construction stage for the Fryslân Nearshore Windpark project and then as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary, is situated next to a potential river for fish migration.

The island has a 2-hectare land area and 25 hectares of submerged, shallow water. An 800-metre-long dam protects the area from waves and currents. Van Oord's crane vessel Werkendam arrived at the IJsselmeer in January to begin construction work on the island.

The island will be used briefly during the construction of the 382.7 MW Fryslân Windpark and, from the moment the turbines of the wind farm are up, the island will no longer be used to support construction and will become a foraging and resting place for birds with an artificial fish reef.

In September, the construction of the 89 monopile foundations of the wind farm will begin with approximately two foundations being placed in place each day.

The base will be built 24 hours a day , 7 days a week, and moving each monopile into the seabed will last 30 to 90 minutes. The construction team will build foundations that are close to Breezanddijk only during the day to reduce the noise emissions.

All foundations will be in place by January 2021. Installation of inter-array cables is expected to begin in December and be completed in February 2021.

Maritime Business World