What was said about data centers in Arkansas
84 statements from 45 speakers, grouped by who spoke. Each appears as said, with the date and the source. No verdict is attached.
From October 2, 2025 to September 23, 2026. Statements from every state are on Statements.
Data center companies 13
Developers, operators and builders of data centers and the technology companies that fill them, speaking through their staff and spokespeople. Every state.
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Google energy market development
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
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Google said the $526 million figure represents upfront payments and that ongoing payments will continue throughout the agreement
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Google spokesperson
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
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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
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Google providing $25 million energy efficiency fund for electric bills and home weatherization
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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
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Google is building a data center in West Memphis
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Google will partner with ICF and Entergy Arkansas to support approximately 200 residents whose homes need critical pre weatherization repairs
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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
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Katie Ottenweller, Lead of Energy Market Development for U.S. Eastern Region at Google, spoke during the event
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Google offering no cost access to Google AI courses and Career Certificates for all Arkansas residents in partnership with Arkansas Department of Commerce
Government 25
Officials in office, lawmakers, regulators, public agencies and courts, federal, state, tribal and local. Every state.
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Pulaski County Justice of the Peace
Julie Blackwood, JP, says AVAIO will not be grandfathered in and must go through county regulations.
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Judge Lee P. Rudofsky denied Entergy's request for an injunction to prohibit use or disclosure of documents on September 2, 2026.
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Republican State Senator
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.
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U.S. Representative
Vasquez backed the House passed Ratepayer Protection Act to encourage utility regulators to make large electricity users pay associated infrastructure costs.
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U.S. Representative
Vasquez introduced a bill to end certain tax breaks for large data centers.
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Republican State Senator
Mark Johnson reported that his Entergy power bill included an added $22.81 from a new rider tacked onto power bills in summer 2026.
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Republican State Senator
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.
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U.S. Representative
Rep. Gabe Vasquez stands with local residents and leaders calling for a temporary moratorium on data centers in Grant County.
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U.S. Representative, R-Arkansas
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.
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State Representative District 45
State Representative Aaron Pilkington presenting on data centers to Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus
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Lee Rudofsky
Judge said case involves issue of significant public concern and public utility arrangements with data centers have repercussions across state
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Commission rejected Entergy's proposed accounting treatment for Google's upfront payments, requiring portions of agreement to be renegotiated.
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District 4 Justice of the Peace Julie Blackwood said ordinance is necessary to avoid county vulnerability to data center impacts
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Madison County Quorum Court
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
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West Memphis City Attorney Mike Stephenson said Google requested an NDA
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West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon participated in the event
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West Memphis mayor says Google and Buc ee's projects are moving as scheduled
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Governor of Arkansas
Governor Sarah Sanders says West Memphis is a hardworking community that deserves the resources and recognition brought by Google's investment
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Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor of Arkansas, says there is no better place for this investment than in West Memphis
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Governor of Arkansas
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Google's investment is the largest capital investment in Arkansas history
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West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon said the project will bring high tech jobs and benefits to the community
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Marco McClendon, Mayor of West Memphis, says the Google data center is the biggest investment in the state of Arkansas
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Marco McClendon, West Memphis Mayor
Google will use local union workers for construction contract work
Chief executives 8
Chief executives, presidents, founders and chairs of companies, in technology, data centers, power and elsewhere. Every state.
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Ruth Porat, Google President, Chief Investment Officer
Google states it is collaborating with Entergy to ensure it covers the full cost of powering the facility
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Google executive Ruth Porat said at 2025 groundbreaking that Google would cover the full cost of powering the West Memphis facility
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Doug McGowen, MLGW President and CEO
MLGW customers have seen no electric rate increase due to data centers in Memphis operated by SpaceXAI and other companies
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Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas
The partnership involves Entergy Arkansas, Google, and ICF working together to deliver energy efficiency improvements
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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
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Andrew Marsh, Entergy Corp. CEO, says the partnership drives economic development and builds communities
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Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux said Google's investment will bring unprecedented economic opportunity to Arkansas
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Drew Marsh, chair and CEO of Entergy
Entergy Arkansas partnering to power the project
Utilities and grid operators 16
Electric utilities, cooperatives and the operators of the power grid, and the people who speak for them. Every state.
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Entergy Arkansas
Entergy claimed the documents were released in error by state regulators and contained confidential trade secret information.
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Lamor Williams, Entergy Arkansas spokesperson
Entergy says documents about West Memphis data center agreement with Altitude Capital were confidential trade secrets released in error
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LLC
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.
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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.
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John Bethel, Entergy director of public affairs
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
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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.
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Entergy director of public affairs
John Bethel, Entergy's director of public affairs, said Google has not publicly disclosed the energy requirement figure for the West Memphis data center
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West Memphis Utilities
Google is financially responsible for utility infrastructure required to serve the West Memphis data center
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Bob Atkins General Manager
West Memphis Utilities assures customers they will not see a rate increase because of Google's data center
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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
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Entergy Arkansas
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
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Entergy alleged Google's project will provide more than $1.1 billion in net benefits to Arkansas residents
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AEP Ohio data center power demand pipeline dropped by more than half following state rules with grid connection study fees
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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
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Exelon cut high probability data center demand by about 40 percent to 11 gigawatts after stricter collateral requirements
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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
Candidates and campaigns 2
People running for office, their campaigns and their parties. A candidate who does not hold the office is not an official. Every state.
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Wendell Griffen, Pulaski County Judge Democratic nominee, helped write the ordinance
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Wendell Griffin, Democratic nominee for Pulaski County Judge, held a news conference August 25 calling for new data center regulations.
Business groups and unions 1
Chambers of commerce, trade associations and labor unions. Every state.
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president and chief executive officer, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce
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
Advocates and residents 4
Advocacy and community groups on every side, residents, neighbors and people speaking at public meetings. Every state.
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community observer
Jerry Damerow recommended baseline noise studies before construction to establish benchmarks for data center operations
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community observer
Jerry Damerow called for baseline air quality and humidity tests before construction and before generators start operating
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community observer
Jerry Damerow stated that state law prohibits banning data centers, so the focus should be on regulations rather than moratoriums
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director of state and local policy, American Economic Liberties Project
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
Researchers and analysts 2
Universities, research institutes, think tanks, pollsters, economists and consultants. Every state.
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assistant professor of rural development, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
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.
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Frank Seo, assistant professor of rural development, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
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.
Other voices 13
Journalists, lawyers, former officials, and speakers the source describes in words that name none of the groups above. Every state.
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Seth Stern, chief of advocacy for the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said Entergy's lawsuit was meritless.
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Lee Wolverton, Arkansas Democrat Gazette Executive Editor, said the First Amendment held true in the case.
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Arkansas lawmaker forms trade association focused on AI and data center policy
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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
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Alexander T. Jones, Kutak Rock partner
The article examines the rapid growth of hyperscale data center development in Arkansas and legal and economic issues accompanying the industry's expansion
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Guy Lancaster, guest columnist
Silicon Valley billionaires want to build data centers across Arkansas
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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Google data center is intended to power the company's search and artificial intelligence capabilities
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Andrew Mobley, reporter
Entergy says Democrat Gazette made a mathematical error by accounting for only 12 months of payments rather than the full 20 year term
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Andrew Mobley, reporter
Democrat Gazette reported Google will pay Entergy about one third of the cost to build the solar plant powering the data center
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Entergy (via Beth Hunt, news anchor)
Entergy stated Google is fully committed to covering 100 percent of the power and infrastructure costs associated with the data center
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DivTeck101
Data centers consume massive amounts of megawatts that standard rural power grids are not originally built to handle
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DivTeck101
Data center cooling systems require water volume comparable to small cities
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DivTeck101 states the proposed Google data center in West Memphis and the xAI facility in Memphis are approximately 4.5 miles apart
The group comes from the words the source gives for the speaker; how the groups are read. Every statement on the record is in CSV and JSON, with its group and its state.
