Owner of Sunset Park's floating gas plants wants bigger replacements, and data center fears fuel opposition

The owner of two floating gas-fired "peaker" plants on the Sunset Park waterfront wants to replace them with bigger, newer power barges, and neighbors, environmental groups and local lawmakers are pushing Gov. Kathy Hochul to stop it, Gothamist and The Indypendent reported.

The plants are the Gowanus Generating Station, on barges at 29th Street and Second Avenue next to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, and the nearby Narrows Generating Station. Peakers switch on only when demand spikes, often on the hottest days, and they emit more pollution per unit of power than plants that run all the time.

What AlphaGen is proposing

• The swap: the owner, Alpha Generation (AlphaGen), wants to replace the units on all six existing barges with three new power barges of 273 megawatts each, a total of 819 megawatts, according to the company's March announcement. Gothamist puts the current plants at 260 megawatts (Gowanus, 32 turbines on four barges) and 322 megawatts (Narrows, 16 turbines on two barges).
• Emissions claim: the company says the new barges would cut emissions intensity by more than 50% compared with the old units and would be "hydrogen-ready." Its plan also includes battery storage at Gowanus and at the Astoria Generating Station in Queens.
• Where it stands: AlphaGen submitted the plan to Con Edison, which is looking for ways to cover a projected power shortfall. A company spokesperson told Gothamist it has not yet filed a formal plan with a state regulator. A formal application would go to the state's Power Plant Siting Board, The Indypendent noted.

Why the 2029 date matters

Under the state's 2025 Peaker Rule, both plants were supposed to close by last July. The state grid operator then decided they must keep running until May 2029 for reliability, citing rising demand from electrification and heat waves, Gothamist reported. AlphaGen's proposal assumes the plants will be needed past 2029.

The data center worry

Opposition grew after DigitalBridge Group, which owns and invests in data centers, bought AlphaGen's parent company for more than $1 billion, Gothamist reported. The Indypendent said the deal was done with Japan's SoftBank. Protesters rallied outside the Gowanus plant on Thursday.

"Sunset Park is not a dumping ground for dangerous energy projects," said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who represents the area. He said 30 state legislators sent Hochul a joint letter Thursday opposing the expansion, according to The Indypendent. Organizers with New York Communities for Change and Food & Water Watch want the plants shut down, not rebuilt.

AlphaGen spokesperson Aaron Gruen told Gothamist the proposal has no connection to data centers. He said the city needs new power that can be dispatched on demand by the mid-2030s, and that the plan would replace 1970s-era units with more efficient, lower-emitting turbines. The Gowanus station dates to 1971, The Indypendent reported.

Residents fought off an earlier attempt to repower the Gowanus plant in 2020 and 2021, The Indypendent noted.