Ten banks and the province of Fryslân are jointly financing the 382.7MW Windpark Fryslân, which is being built in the Dutch IJsselmeer, south of the Afsluitdijk, six kilometers off the Frisian coast. The near shore windpark is being built by Zuiderzeewind, a consortium of Van Oord and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.At the end of last year, Van Oord started soil investigations and in March ducts were installed at Breezanddijk for power cables that connect the wind turbines to the transformer station. In the meantime, the construction of the transformer station on Breezanddijk has also started, as well as the installation of the power cables on the Afsluitdijk. After completion, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy is responsible for the maintenance of the wind farm for 16 years. The windpark comprises 89 Siemens Gamesa turbines of 4.3MW, which are placed in a cluster form. The construction of the windpark also includes the construction of a nature island south of the Afsluitdijk of 2 ha above water and 25 ha under water, that will add extra quality to the resting and foraging area of fish and birds.