New York Power Authority Buys Astoria Power Plant Land for $207M
By Isabelle Durso July 7, 2025 12:19 pm
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The land holding a major utility plant in Astoria, Queens, is switching hands.
The state-owned New York Power Authority (NYPA) has bought the 15.7-acre lot at 21-25 13th Avenue, formerly home to a Consolidated Edison power plant, from oil and gas company BP for $206.8 million, according to city records made public Thursday.
The land is adjacent to the NYPA’s existing Astoria energy complex at 31-03 20th Avenue, and the facility is expected to be owner-occupied, according to PincusCo, which first reported the news.
The new deal will “provide additional land for energy infrastructure to support future integration of clean energy resources in New York City,” the NYPA said in March when it first announced the approval of the purchase.
NYPA Special Counsel Allison Renstrom Shea signed the deal for the buyer, which used the entity Power Authority of the State of New York, while Amin Sewani signed for BP, which used the entity Beacon Wind Land, records show.
“This strategic investment enables the Power Authority to explore options for reliable, sustainable energy infrastructure that aligns with the state’s ambitious decarbonization goals while also ensuring resiliency of the state power grid,” NYPA Chairman John Koelmel said in a statement in March.
It’s unclear who brokered the deal. Spokespeople for the NYPA and BP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
News of the deal’s completion comes after BP bought the Astoria power plant on the corner of 31st Street and 20th Avenue from NRG Energy in January 2023 for $215.5 million, following NRG’s decision to close its in-city fossil fuel power plants, as Commercial Observer previously reported.
BP had planned to connect the Con Edison electrical grid on the site with its massive Beacon Wind offshore wind project, which comprises a combined area of 128,000 acres between Cape Cod, Mass., and Long Island, N.Y., and has the capacity to generate approximately 2.6 gigawatts, according to its website.
However, BP withdrew its application to connect its Beacon Wind project to the grid in February after the State of New York announced its next offshore wind opportunity would be for “generation-only” projects, Offshore Wind Biz reported at the time.
As a result, BP put the property up for sale in 2024, with the NYPA emerging as the primary interested bidder, according to the March press release.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
