Data centers in Arkansas

Michael Rushin, Republican nominee for Pulaski County Judge, said Pulaski County needs regulations on data centers that are firm and fair to protect citizens while showing corporations that Pulaski County is open for business.

Wendell Griffen, Democrat candidate for Pulaski County Judge, said data centers have local impacts and local land use impacts, and that Pulaski County has the power to regulate those impacts and should exercise that power wisely, rigorously, fairly, and comprehensively.

Julie Blackwood, JP, says AVAIO will not be grandfathered in and must go through county regulations.

Wendell Griffen stated he spent several months developing the ordinance after Arkansas passed Act 851 in 2025 restricting data center regulation

Entergy claimed the documents were released in error by state regulators and contained confidential trade secret information.

Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said Entergy's lawsuit was meritless.

Judge Lee P. Rudofsky denied Entergy's request for an injunction to prohibit use or disclosure of documents on September 2, 2026.

Entergy says documents about West Memphis data center agreement with Altitude Capital were confidential trade secrets released in error

Entergy dismissed federal court complaint against Jessica Kivell and two publications regarding details about plans for a Google data center that were accidentally released by the Arkansas Public Service Commission on September 17, 2026.

Matt McKee, Republican senator, questioned why Entergy was recouping costs for Cypress Solar from regular ratepayers through the rider when Entergy claimed Google was covering all costs associated with serving data centers under the Fair Share Plus pledge.

John Bethel, Entergy Arkansas director of public affairs, stated that the rider shifts up costs that ratepayers would eventually pay and saves ratepayers money by reducing interest and other costs that increase over time.

Vasquez backed the House passed Ratepayer Protection Act to encourage utility regulators to make large electricity users pay associated infrastructure costs.

Vasquez introduced a bill to end certain tax breaks for large data centers.

Entergy representative stated that ratepayers could see rate increases as Entergy builds facilities needed to serve the data center, but costs would stabilize once construction is complete

David Palmer, Entergy Arkansas vice president of regulatory affairs, stated that the need to ensure Cypress Solar was built in time for the data center to go online on schedule, plus pursuit of tax credits, played into the decision to recoup costs from ratepayers.

John Bethel, Entergy's director of public affairs, said Google has not publicly disclosed the energy requirement figure for the West Memphis data center

Rachel Wilson, energy market development representative for Google, told Arkansas lawmakers that Google's data centers support more than artificial intelligence development, powering Google Search, YouTube, Gmail and Google Maps

Mark Johnson reported that his Entergy power bill included an added $22.81 from a new rider tacked onto power bills in summer 2026.

Mark Johnson, Republican senator and co chair of the Joint Energy Committee, criticized Entergy for suing the Arkansas Democrat Gazette over First Amendment reporting on power agreements with Google and noted his disappointment with the lawsuit.

Rep. Gabe Vasquez stands with local residents and leaders calling for a temporary moratorium on data centers in Grant County.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R Arkansas, said data centers get a bad rap and issues can be resolved when everyone is on their A game.

Arkansas lawmaker forms trade association focused on AI and data center policy

State Representative Aaron Pilkington presenting on data centers to Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus

Kutak Rock partner Alexander T. Jones authored an article on the rise of data centers in Arkansas, published in Summer 2026 issue of The Arkansas Lawyer

The article examines the rapid growth of hyperscale data center development in Arkansas and legal and economic issues accompanying the industry's expansion

Silicon Valley billionaires want to build data centers across Arkansas

The Google data center is intended to power the company's search and artificial intelligence capabilities

Google is financially responsible for utility infrastructure required to serve the West Memphis data center

Entergy says Democrat Gazette made a mathematical error by accounting for only 12 months of payments rather than the full 20 year term

West Memphis Utilities assures customers they will not see a rate increase because of Google's data center

Google states it is collaborating with Entergy to ensure it covers the full cost of powering the facility

Democrat Gazette reported Google will pay Entergy about one third of the cost to build the solar plant powering the data center

Google said the $526 million figure represents upfront payments and that ongoing payments will continue throughout the agreement

Entergy stated remaining two thirds of Cypress Solar project costs would be covered by Arkansas ratepayers via a proposed approximately $6 per month utility rate increase

Entergy stated the agreement includes approximately $443 million in upfront payments and at least $83 million annually over 20 years, totaling more than $2.1 billion

Entergy stated Google is fully committed to covering 100 percent of the power and infrastructure costs associated with the data center

Google executive Ruth Porat said at 2025 groundbreaking that Google would cover the full cost of powering the West Memphis facility

MLGW customers have seen no electric rate increase due to data centers in Memphis operated by SpaceXAI and other companies

Judge said case involves issue of significant public concern and public utility arrangements with data centers have repercussions across state

Entergy alleged Google's project will provide more than $1.1 billion in net benefits to Arkansas residents

Google statement: Google is fully committed to covering 100 percent of the power and infrastructure costs for West Memphis data center, with ongoing monthly rates over the 20 year agreement completely funding operational footprint

Google spokesperson stated Google is committed to covering 100% of power and infrastructure costs, with upfront payments totaling $526 million and ongoing monthly rates over a 20 year agreement

Entergy Arkansas filed a federal lawsuit seeking to restrict publication of information tied to Google's West Memphis data center, including financial details involving the Arkansas Cypress Solar and Battery project in Jefferson County

Exelon cut high probability data center demand by about 40 percent to 11 gigawatts after stricter collateral requirements

Entergy alleged confidential information involving its agreements with Altitude Capital LLC, a Google subsidiary, was released by the Arkansas Public Service Commission through a public records request

Commission rejected Entergy's proposed accounting treatment for Google's upfront payments, requiring portions of agreement to be renegotiated.

Wendell Griffen, Pulaski County Judge Democratic nominee, helped write the ordinance

District 4 Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood said ordinance is necessary to avoid county vulnerability to data center impacts

Wendell Griffin, Democratic nominee for Pulaski County Judge, held a news conference August 25 calling for new data center regulations.

The moratorium allows the county to investigate data centers, digital asset mining businesses, and similar large scale digital compute based operations and the costs and benefits of such projects

Jerry Damerow recommended baseline noise studies before construction to establish benchmarks for data center operations

Jerry Damerow called for baseline air quality and humidity tests before construction and before generators start operating

Jerry Damerow stated that state law prohibits banning data centers, so the focus should be on regulations rather than moratoriums

Study by Frank Seo examined economic impacts of AI data centers versus auto and food manufacturing in Arkansas statewide and in four rural counties: Calhoun, Dallas, Newton, and Woodruff.

Data centers compare favorably with auto and food manufacturing facilities in terms of overall economic output at statewide level but generate fewer employment spillovers than traditional manufacturing.

"We are hosting these engagements with community in mind and trying to bring the information directly to them."

"We are committed to being a good neighbor. We have followed the regulatory process that exists and we haven't done that in secret. There's been no backdoor meetings."

Data centers consume massive amounts of megawatts that standard rural power grids are not originally built to handle

Data center cooling systems require water volume comparable to small cities

DivTeck101 states the proposed Google data center in West Memphis and the xAI facility in Memphis are approximately 4.5 miles apart

Google providing $25 million energy efficiency fund for electric bills and home weatherization

Jay Chesshir, president and chief executive officer of Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, said NDAs have been a part of economic development work for decades

Pat Garafalo, director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, said nondisclosure agreements are extremely problematic from an economic and democratic standpoint

West Memphis City Attorney Mike Stephenson said Google requested an NDA

The partnership involves Entergy Arkansas, Google, and ICF working together to deliver energy efficiency improvements

Katie Ottenweller, regional head of energy market development at Google, said the Community Energy Advisory Council ensures the West Memphis Energy Impact Fund remains rooted in local needs

West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon participated in the event

Google is building a data center in West Memphis

Google will partner with ICF and Entergy Arkansas to support approximately 200 residents whose homes need critical pre weatherization repairs

Katie Ottenweller, regional head of energy market development for Google, said the most effective community investments are grounded in true partnership and expressed thrall at announcing first partners

Katie Ottenweller, Lead of Energy Market Development for U.S. Eastern Region at Google, spoke during the event

West Memphis mayor says Google and Buc ee's projects are moving as scheduled

Drew Marsh, Chair and CEO, Entergy, says Google's investment will put Arkansas at the forefront of American innovation as the new facility joins Google's global network

Governor Sarah Sanders says West Memphis is a hardworking community that deserves the resources and recognition brought by Google's investment

Andrew Marsh, Entergy Corp. CEO, says the partnership drives economic development and builds communities

Google offering no cost access to Google AI courses and Career Certificates for all Arkansas residents in partnership with Arkansas Department of Commerce

Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux said Google's investment will bring unprecedented economic opportunity to Arkansas

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor of Arkansas, says there is no better place for this investment than in West Memphis

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Google's investment is the largest capital investment in Arkansas history

Entergy Arkansas partnering to power the project

West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon said the project will bring high tech jobs and benefits to the community

Marco McClendon, Mayor of West Memphis, says the Google data center is the biggest investment in the state of Arkansas

Google will use local union workers for construction contract work